


Dawn of a New Day

by Lookathooves



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Canon Related, Eventual Dragonborn, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friendship, OC from Cyrodiil, Post-Dawnguard DLC (Elder Scrolls), Pulling Pigtails, Slow Burn, Vampire Hunter, Werewolf, vampire, vampire/werewolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 19:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 39,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30010041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lookathooves/pseuds/Lookathooves
Summary: Following the battle at Volkihar Keep, the Dawnguard heroine gets assigned the most unusual job of checking out a possible werewolf infestation in Whiterun. Serana, who has refused to leave her newfound friends side, joins her in search of these beasts. Little do they know that this meeting will change their lives forever.
Relationships: Farkas/Serana (Elder Scrolls), Vilkas (Elder Scrolls)/Original Female Character(s), Vilkas/Original Breton Character(s) (Elder Scrolls)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 6





	1. Vampires and Werewolves

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-Posted from FF.net.

Caterina Motierre doesn’t fear vampires, nor does she fear werewolves.

To be honest, this new werewolf outbreak was a breath of fresh air. After the battle she’d just took part in, she’d welcome anything with wide, open arms. Though she’d never really heard of any werewolf attacks. At least not within cities. So when Isran, after three weeks since the Vampire attacks, contacted her about checking up on Whiterun, she was pleasantly surprised. The pleasant part would stem from him getting rumors of hearing the beasts at night within the city, but no attacks. Strange for a beast who was renowned for being a cruel man-eater. Perhaps someone was misinformed.

She had just hoped that this wouldn’t turn out to be another battle like she and many others from the Dawnguard had just experienced.

The battle at Volkihar Keep was a long, bloody fight with many casualties. A lot of good men were lost that night as Caterina fought her way through the castle entrance alongside Isran, Sorine, and Durak; the others behind fighting off the sudden vampire ambush. The amount of lives she took was little to none according to Isran, who insisted that vampires had no life to live, nor lose. With his comments and his harsh behavior towards the subject, Caterina felt that his prejudice and her positive feelings would eventually lead to them clashing at some point in time. The only death she did agree on was when she watched in relief as Lord Harkon burst into blood-red flames, which quickly died out and formed a pile of darkened ash, the arrow that she’d shot perfectly embedded in the center of the mound.

His cruelty and obsession with an ancient prophecy, which would eventually result in the murder of his own daughter, was reasons enough for his death. The wife of the madman also meant as little to him as his daughter, him only seeing them as a means to achieve his true goal; a world where vampires would thrive in darkness.

He was of little concern now. Whatever world he was suffering in, may Molag Bal rot with him.

The Breton woman gripped Auriel’s Bow tightly within her fist, the indentations of the weapon marking the palm of her hand. The battle had been three weeks ago, but she was still on edge. After all, being in a battle that you don’t normally see everyday in Skyrim tends to put someone over the breaking point when it comes to caution.

The events leading up to the battle, however, were not a complete waste. For starters, they did wipe out the vampire clan, save for a select few whom Caterina defended. To top it off, she made a lifelong friend.

She looked over at the vampire to her side and smiled. Serana had been so cold and distant when she found her in Dimhollow Cavern, but after all they’d been through together, she was full of newfound life, despite still being technically dead, of course. The only time they’ve parted ways was when Caterina had to meet up with the Dawnguard. While Serana held no threat to their hunting group, she still had reasons to not trust Isran around her. Hell, even the others had their grudges towards vampires.

It actually surprised the breton when Isran did send for her. Why trust her, of all people? Sure she was the hunter who had killed Lord Harkon in his own home, but her act of pity towards certain undead beings lead him to not trust her as well as he should. His excuse was that he and a majority of the other members of the Dawnguard had discovered a bigger Vampire hideout up north and had decided to investigate. Durak had told her that she was best suited for the job of finding the werewolves and Gunmar insisted that it was a one-man job of tracking them down. Truth be told, Caterina had a feeling that they sent her on a wild goose chase over some rumor only to be rid of her in case there were more innocent vampires that they wished to murder in this newfound location.

She sighed as she looked at the large city of Whiterun ahead of them just down the path.

The idea of werewolves being in Whiterun was kind of far fetched. Nonetheless, she promised Isran that she’d look into it, so here she was. Auriel’s bow in her hand and a shoulder-bag slung over her shoulder containing various potions and bandages and other misc. items such as silver daggers. One should always come prepared. Which is always why she had Bran.

Bran was an incredibly gifted husky who knew his basic commands and had even been trained to wear something she liked to call “doggie armor.” It was love at first bark, truly. He never left her side and always came to her aid. She smiled as she reached down to pat him on the head, his tongue coming out to give a friendly lick upon her fingers.

Serana casually walked next to her, hood pulled up over her face to shield herself from the sun. She didn’t have to come with her, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t expect it. The vampire always found a way around things. If she said she didn’t want her to travel to a location with her, she’d simply meet the hunter at said location while stating that she did not travel with her. She was a sarcastic little thing. Or.. big thing, really. Caterina was a breton and compared to Serana, she was of very short stature. Not that it minded her too much. Nords and bretons got along just fine. Or at least she thought so. She was never one for politics.

If their height difference wasn’t so prominent, people would have mistook them for sisters. Of course Serana was much more beautiful than Caterina, which was to be expected for a daughter of Coldharbour. Caterina was, to put it nicely, simply ordinary. She was nothing special. While she was by no means ugly, she also wasn’t someone that a knight in shining armor would risk his life rescuing. Her waist-length, dark brown hair was always a wavy, tangled mess despite how many times she’d tried to tame it. Her skin had always been a sickly looking pale color.. she was pretty sure they didn’t even make face-paint that was lighter than her skin. Her facial features were alright, but she had a horrible looking gash on the side of her neck - thank you Mr. Grizzly Bear - that didn’t appear to be healing up anytime soon. The only unique feature she had were her clear, bright blue eyes. But even then, she insisted that she had seen better eye colors.

Serana on the other hand had everything going okay for her. Her pale skin and shoulder-length, dark hair were similar to Caterina’s, but it somehow looked much better on the Nordic woman. Not that the breton was complaining. Jealousy wasn’t something that she knew.

“You sure do seem to be lost in the clouds today, Caterina. Feeling okay?” Serana broke her out of her thoughts when they’d reached Pelagia Farm. She placed a hand on her shoulder with genuine concern.

“Yes, of course. I’ve just had a lot to think about. Dragons, vampires, and now werewolves?” Caterina chuckled. “It’s like the world is against humanity right now. No offense to you, of course.”

“None taken.” She smiled widely at the breton, but it quickly vanished when she reached for her elven dagger at her side. “Caterina, look!”

“A giant? You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sure enough, about 50 feet ahead of them stood a giant with a large war-hammer. There were three armored warriors already fighting with the beast, but it felt like she needed to assist them. One look at Serana and they simultaneously charged forward with their weapons. With Auriel’s Bow aimed at the giant’s head, she released the arrow, sending it soaring through the air until it landed directly between its eyes.

The smile on her face grew so big that she was half-tempted to start jumping up and down like a little girl, but the moment soon vanished when she looked over to share the joy with Serana. The vampire had a look of absolute horror on her face and for a reason even Caterina couldn’t place. She’d have asked her what her worry was, but she noticed one of the warriors - a female - was approaching.

“You handle yourself well. You could make for a decent Shield-Sister.” The woman, who appeared to be nord, had a fiery, wild look in her eyes. Her red hair and face-paint accentuated that fact.

“A shield-sister?” Caterina must have given Bran her enthusiasm, for he was wagging his tail and running in circles around the woman.

“Yes. Have you not heard of the companions?” Serana ignored the woman. She held her tongue and did not speak. Her actions were beginning to seem rather rude, much to Caterina’s dislike.

“Who hasn’t? You’re warriors. People pay you to help you solve their problems,” She scratched her head as she looked back at Serana who had taken a few steps back when the other two Companions stepped forward. “I’ve always admired you and what you do.” It was true that she had heard of the infamous companions and their Harbinger, but she’d never actually met them until today.

The response must have pleased the Nordic woman, for she smiled brightly and gestured to herself. “My name is Aela and this is Farkas, my shield-brother. And this is my newest shield-sister, Ria.” Ria looked ready to jump right out of her boots in excitement. Farkas appeared to be bored until he spotted Bran.

“You’re strong. Join us.” Farkas commented as he bent down to scratch behind the huskies ears.

“I will need to speak with my friend, here.” She gestured towards Serana who now had her hand rested on her sheathed dagger. “Who apparently seems to by shy today.”

Aela looked curiously behind Caterina as the vampire refused to meet her gaze. Making a small noise of frustration, Serana pushed forward. “I’ll meet you at the inn.”

Not only did her sudden departure confuse the companions, but it also confused Caterina as well. She looked at Aela and shrugged her shoulders.

“Forgive her. She’s normally not like this. Perhaps she got ill on the journey here.” Which was an obvious lie if they knew of her vampire heritage, but she felt that she needed to make an excuse for her. Though why she acted so hostile towards these people who had barely said three sentences to her, she had no idea.

“Mm. Indeed.” Aela slung her bow over her shoulder and looked to Ria and Farkas. “I want to talk with this one. I’ll head back soon.”

“It was nice to meet you!” Ria was, by all means, a bundle of joy. The smile never left her face and she was sure, that if she’d looked, she’d have been smiling as she was killing the giant. It was rather refreshing.

Ria jogged back up towards the gates of Whiterun, Farkas not too far behind.

“Tell me your name.”

“Caterina.”

“Family name?”

“Motierre.”

“Well then, Caterina Motierre,” She looked the breton up and down like she was sizing her up. “How would you like to join the companions?”

“I would love to, personally. But I have other affairs that I need to tend to.” She furrowed her brows when she spotted Farkas attempting to talk to Serana up ahead. Hopefully Serana wouldn’t embarrass herself.

“Affairs? So you’re part of another organization?”

“In a way, yes.” She perked up and shook her head. “But it’s a personal organization. I hope you understand.”

“Personal, hm? Sounds mysterious. Hopefully it’s as rewarding as being a companion.”

“Probably not, but I can’t really back out now.” She cleared her throat and decided to sway away from the conversation. “So you’re a huntress?”

That perked her up immediately. “I am. It appears you are, too. That was some great aiming you did earlier.”

“Thank you!” She’d have lied if she told herself that the compliment wasn’t that big of a deal. She recently switched from a crossbow to a bow after battling Harkon. She’d have insisted on getting the crossbow back, but Isran told her that it was destined for her to wield it. She surely couldn’t go against the thoughts and ideas of her leader, now could she? Either way, she was still practicing with the bow, so the idea that she hit the target spot on was, to put it bluntly, sheer luck. Damn Auriel’s Bow.

“We should go hunting together sometime. Do you live near here?”

“No. I own a home in Riften, but it’s quite a ways away for visitors.”

“I see,” Aela straightened up and glanced up at the gates of Whiterun. “Well if you change your mind, you’ll have to talk to Kodlak Whitemane up in Jorrvaskr.”

“Hm. Maybe I will.” It honestly didn’t seem like a bad idea for some extra coin, but Serana appeared to resent these people for reasons unknown.

“Well if you go to the old man, good luck.” She gave Caterina a genuine smile and she couldn’t help but to realize how much Aela put her in mind of her sister back home in Cyrodiil. Strangely, it made her a bit homesick. She was silent as she slowly followed the Nord up the path and towards Serana.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Serana held a hand up to her nose as she walked up the path to get to Whiterun. The foul stench of the wolf on those two were unbearable. It amazed her to think that the living could not at least smell a tad bit of the odor.

The Imperial walked past her on the path, but she didn’t smell like anything other than the normal stench of human. While it wasn’t the best smell in the world for her heightened “sniffer”, as Caterina liked to call it, it did at least put her at ease that there were only two. That she knew of anyway. But she did have her doubts.

Farkas and Aela, on the other hand, were nothing but wolf. Now she had nothing against anyone, but her family had always been fearful and disgusted with werewolves. Apparently that prejudice was hereditary. The way they smelt disgusted her and the way they stalked their prey downright scared her. Though she’d never admit it. Sadly, Caterina seemed to sense her fear.

She would have to explain to the breton what had happened when they get their time alone, but for now, let her think what she will of her.

Just when she thought Caterina was walking up behind her, her heart filled with dread when she smelt him.

She inwardly grimaced when she seen the male walking towards her with every intent to talk with her. She groaned aloud when he stopped in front of her, blocking her path with his muscular frame.

“Hey,” He asked awkwardly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m.. I’m fine. Now get out of my way.”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re fine.” He crossed his arms and remained standing in front of her. She groaned again. “What’s your name?”

“… Brünnhilde.” Really? That’s the best you could do? Brünnhilde?

“Where are you from?” She tried to walk around him, but he just walked backwards in an attempt to continue speaking to her.

“Around.”

“Around where?” She huffed at his response, eager to be away from the foul smelling wolf.

“Around here.”

“Is that around here?”

“What are you even talking about?” She stopped in her tracks and looked him in the face for the first time. He was a decent looking guy, but the dirt and face-paint smeared across his features made her grimace. That mixed with the smell made for a horrible combination. Not to mention he was a bonehead. Though perhaps if he were cured of the beast blood…

“Serana!” Serana glanced back to see Aela walking up the path followed closely behind by Caterina. Damn it.

“Wait a minute. Serana? I thought your name was Brünnhilde.” Farkas questioned as he looked back and forth between the two women. Aela seemed to understand completely and urged him onward.

“Go on, you lumbering oaf. I think we should leave these women alone.” Aela pushed a hand against his stomach, causing him to walk backwards quicker and almost fall over in the process, earning some chuckles from the huntress. “They just got back from a long journey. I’m sure they’ll want to rest.”

While Serana didn’t fancy being around the werewolves in anyway, she did at least appreciate the genuine concern that the red head had given her. Serana forced a smile and grabbed for Caterina’s hand to keep her from following. She tugged her away from the road.

“Serana,” The breton gently tugged her hood off her head and looked at her with eyes filled with concern. “What’s wrong? Why were you so hostile?”

“It’s them,” She ran her hands through her hair, relief sweeping over her now that the sun was going down. Her eyes would finally have a break.

“Them?”

“The mutts! All I can smell on them is.. dog. Gross disgusting dog!” Bran barked in response as if to say Hello, I’m right here! In truth, the smell of dog didn’t bother her. But the smell of werewolves threw her over the edge.

“Are you sure? They didn’t seem the type.” The look of confusion and disbelief crossed the bretons face. “Serana. Why would you accuse the-”

“Have you seen many werewolves in your lifetime?” Serana interrupted, clearly frustrated at the girl for not trusting her judgement the first time.

“Well no, I haven’t, bu-”

“This isn’t a joke! Just.. trust me. It’s them. And I bet you there are a lot more of them in their little cult.”

“They’re not a cult. They help people, Serana.” Caterina looked deeply offended. Serana had completely forgotten her love of heroes.

“Okay. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so prejudice against them.” Serana knew how it felt to be thrown into the same bunch of vampires that relished in everything they were.. to be accused of being a heartless vampire much like her departed father, Harkon. The events leading up to where she was today made her a little more forgiving of those that had seen hardships in their life, urging them to change their behavior. Serana didn’t even hate Isran - just mistrusted him, but for obvious reasons. He had, after all, came across many vampires with no good plans. Then again, what vampire did normally have good intentions?

Still. She couldn’t help but to let her fear of the werewolves get out of hand. Caterina knew she was fearful of the beast blood, but she’d prefer not to let her understand the extent of her fear. It took everything in her to even tag along with the breton on this little quest she had gotten herself into. But what kind of friend would she be if she let her best friend literally get thrown into a pit of rabid dogs?

She sighed at the silence and watched as the two wolves disappeared behind the gates and looked to her companion. “We better head to the inn. It’s getting late.”

Caterina nodded and wrapped her cloak around her frame a little more tightly. Serana figured it was getting chilly since she reacted so negatively towards the cold, something the vampire didn’t really notice anymore.

Normally the lateness wouldn’t bother Serana. In fact, she welcomed night like she welcomed a warm mug of mead - or blood - after a long journey with no refreshments. But due to her friendship with the breton, she forced herself to change her sleeping patterns. It wasn’t all bad. At least people couldn’t see how much her eyes glowed during the day. Less suspicions, of course. Which was a lot less stressful on her part.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

The Bannered Mare was full of people and a little too crowded for Caterina’s liking. They didn’t waste much time renting a room from the Nord innkeeper, Hulda. Once in the privacy of their own room for the night, Caterina immediately turned on Serana, asking her questions ranging from how they smelt and if she could smell them from their room and if she had met many werewolves prior.

“You ask way too many questions. Is this a common trait for a breton?” She inquired as they both stripped themselves of their heavy armor and equipment, Bran barking joyfully on the bed without a care in the world.

“Well you met Sorine. That should answer your question right there.”

“She is indeed a talker. It’s too bad that she despises bloodsuckers and wishes to kill me.”

“Yeah. That’s one negative.” Caterina plopped down on the bed after shooing Bran off and immediately wrapped herself up in the blankets. Serana fluffed her pillows up and laid on the opposite side, her hands placed behind her neck as she relaxed her achy feet.

“So whats our plan for finding out more about these wolves?”

“If there were two werewolves fighting together, that should surely mean that there are more, correct?” Serana nodded and stared at the far wall as she listened to the breton.

“The unusual thing about it is that Imperial that was with them.” Serana had almost forgotten about her.

“What about her?”

“She was mortal. Human. No wolf in her blood at all.”

“That’s.. interesting. Do you think they’re planning on cooking her for supper?” Leave it to Caterina to put it so nicely.

“I don’t think so. While they are beasts, I don’t think they’d chance that in the middle of Whiterun.”

Caterina didn’t say anything for awhile. She shifted over in the bed to glance at the small holes in the floor. Skyrim sure sucked at making decent buildings. At least Cyrodiil actually had magic users to help in the creation.

“I think I know your plan.” Serana spoke out of the blue and turned her body towards the breton and sighed. “It’s too dangerous. I won’t allow you to do it.”

“Okay, mom. But I didn’t really ask your permission. Did I?”

“Caterina, I’m serious. You could get seriously hurt.”

“Well they haven’t touched Ria yet, have they?” She countered back defensively.

“No, but maybe it’s only a matter of time. None of them can control their beast blood. What if they lead her away one night and, as you said, have her for supper?”

“Then join them with me. We can fight them together.”

“Me surrounded by werewolves? I don’t think so.” Caterina huffed at the vampires stubbornness. She knew of her fear of the wolves, but this was ridiculous. There were guards around if anything out of the ordinary were to occur.

“Oh, come on. I could protect you.”

“Yeah. You and your noodle arms.” She laughed and smiled as Caterina flexed in a most sarcastic manner. “Use that bow of yours more often and you’ll be surprised over how much more muscles will build up.”

“As long as I get the job done, I don’t care how I look.”

“You will if you want to eventually marry.”

“Won’t husbands appreciate their wife being thin and weaker than them?” She put an emphasis on weaker since she had killed several dragons that had crossed her path in the past. Not to mention an entire vampire coven had been slain thanks to her and a handful of others.

“Not in Skyrim. Nordic men have an odd attraction to tall and fit women.”

“Perhaps I’ll have to wear a long gown to hide the stool I’ll be standing on to look taller.” She sassed back, clearly frustrated with that comment. It’s not that she wanted to marry anytime soon, but she would eventually love to settle down.

Serana gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry.”

They both stopped their chatter, the only sounds being made was the creaking of the floorboard outside their room and the laughing and blabbing of the people downstairs. Probably drunk off their asses.

“Farkas is kind of cute.” Serana looked at the breton, who seemed to pull that statement out of thin air.

“I’m not letting you fall in love with a werewolf.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I was speaking from your perspective.” She grinned at the vampire. “I mean, you were his exact height. And you have such a fit figure. It was love at first sight.”

Serana used all the force she could muster and kicked her out of the bed, Caterina rolling onto the floor in a fit of giggles. Bran barked and took the spot on the bed, proceeding to snuggle into the pillow Caterina had currently vacated.

“You’re such a child.”

“Well you are over 4,000 years old. You should know.”

“Shut up.” Remarked the vampire, her smile returning.

“Look at us giggling like a bunch of thirteen year old girls planning their future weddings.” Caterina laughed as she remained awkwardly on the floor, one foot wrapped around the blanket which she had all but dragged onto the ground with her.

“How old are you, Caterina?” Questioned the Nord. “I’ve never really asked.”

“I’ll be reaching my twenty-fourth birthday this winter.”

“I remember when I reached my twenty-first birthday. My mother harped on me so much to choose a suitor; as is the customs of the daughters of wealthy families to also marry wealthy.”

“I take it you did not choose?”

“Oh, I did.” The vampires smile brightened at the memory. “He was perfect - the perfect gentleman. The smile that he wore on his face was permanent. I had never seen him frown, even when he met my father who was, believe it or not, quite stern but loving at the time.”

“What happened?” Caterina propped herself up on the side of the bed, her knees resting onto the hard wood of the creaking floors.

Serana’s smile faded and she glanced out the small window at the moon so high in the sky. She cleared her throat and blinked several times to keep her glassy eyes from weeping.

“It’s late. We should sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.”

“We have a big day tomorrow,” After much prodding, Bran finally jumped off the bed allowing Caterina to occupy her previous spot. She laid on her back beside Serana, who turned her body to the wall, her back to the breton. Caterina understood that Serana had her secrets, but she had a feeling that she was hiding a lot more than she seemed to previously believe.

The moonlight shone brightly through the small window in the room, all the furniture looking serene and still. That’s when she heard the chilling sound of a howl - no. Howls. She shivered and pulled the blankets up further onto her frame, Serana remaining as still and calm as could be. Caterina was very rarely envious of people, but at this point in time, she envied Serana for not feeling the cold winds blowing through the window.

Seemed like ages before the howling and the wind died down, her body being a little more adjusted to the temperature in the room. But as usual, just as sleep was about to come for her, Bran found the need to jump onto her stomach and proceed to curl up, his nose resting in the crook of her neck.

“Oof.” Damn it.


	2. Ice Brains and Hot Heads

Vilkas rubbed his temples and groaned as he sat up in bed, his body hunched over with his elbows resting firmly on his knees. His entire being screamed at him in desperate cries to end the suffering; from his feet to his head, his body was one big ache.

The previous night was the full moon, and while most could control their beast blood to the point of not changing at all, Vilkas was not one of those people. If it wasn't for his brother, he was sure he'd have the biggest bounty in all of the holds combined. Aela and Skjor had no issue with leaving before nightfall and letting their beast blood take over. What they did when they were absent, Vilkas didn't want to know. Rumors said that they were involved intimately, but Vilkas snorted at the thought of it. Aela was too stubborn to let feelings show, that much was true. Still, Vilkas had his suspicions of the two and had hoped whatever they did during their weekly outings wouldn't get either one of them killed. They were good people and like family to him.

He only wished he had their same reaction and thoughts on the beast blood. The night before, Farkas had to hold him down as Vilkas growled in agonizing pain. The howls of Skjor and Aela in the distance were not easing his beast blood and it took everything in him to not transform. Farkas had a better time resisting the call of the blood and he envied every moment of it. Luckily Farkas was also strong, so Vilkas couldn't go on a rampage and hurt himself or others in the process.

Stretching, Vilkas stood and reached for his heavy armor. Even the weight of the armor made his muscles ache. He slowly made his way to the door, careful to not cause himself anymore pain. He wasn't sure if he could handle it at the moment.

"Rough night, Vilkas?" Inquired Kodlak across the hall. "I heard everything. How are you feeling?"

Vilkas went over and sat in the chair opposite of the Harbinger, nodding in response. "I still hear the call of the blood. It won't go away."

"We all hear it, whether we want to or not." He took a big drink from his mug before speaking his part. "I don't think it ever goes away."

"How do they do it?" Inquired Vilkas. "How do they handle the beast blood so well?"

Kodlak chuckled. "Some handle it better than others. Some were born to serve under Hircine."

Kodlak looked at him with sad eyes. He and Vilkas were one in the same. Neither enjoyed their beast blood and neither wanted to serve Hircine in the afterlife. After Jergen left for battle, he turned to Kodlak for guidance. He soon became almost like a father figure to both him and Farkas, therefore he hated to see him in just as much pain as he had dealt with. Kodlak was strong, but the blood of the beast could bring down the toughest warriors. That is something Vilkas knew all too well.

"We will overcome, Vilkas." He paused as he stared at the far wall, almost as if he was ashamed to meet the younger Nords gaze. "Are you still considering what we've talked about?"

"You have my brother and I, obviously." He heard footsteps and lowered his voice. "But I don't know if the rest will go along quite so easily."

"Leave that to me," He smiled brightly. "I have no doubts they'll see it our way."

Someone approached as Vilkas reached over to pull off a piece of bread and pop it into his mouth. He didn't expect to hear such an annoying voice come from the being in front of them, much less someone he had originally thought to be a courier, by the tone of Kodlaks voice, who questioned why she had came to their hall.

"I'd like to join the companions. If you'd have me, that is." He almost choked on his bread.

After last night, he was in no mood to deal with new recruits. Sadly, life didn't revolve around him or his beastly behaviors. So when he looked over to see a breton woman whose waist seemed to be smaller around than the thickest part of his brother's arm, he groaned inwardly. This was a recruit? She hadn't even bothered putting on plate or mail. While those such as Njada, Torvar, Ria, and Athis wore less armor than those from the inner circle, they at least looked the part. She was nothing more than a joke.

"Would you now?" Kodlak laughed merrily. "Tell me a bit about yourself."

"My name is Caterina Motierre. I think I'm a fairly decent fighter. I can hit the target if that's what you want to know." She laughed nervously and Vilkas chuckled while Kodlak smiled.

"We can always train you to properly use weapons, dear girl." He looked her up and down. "I had just hoped with such high expectations of joining, that you'd have at least have some knowledge with the sword."

"Oh, I do, sir."

"Sir? Miss, you're too polite."

"Thank you again, sir." She grinned cheekily and continued. "I know how to swing a sword. But I don't."

"Don't? Then what in Talos' name are you doing here then?" Vilkas interrupted, causing Kodlak to intervene and hush him.

"Let her speak, Vilkas. She is promising."

"Promising? She doesn't look like she can even lift a sword, much less defend herself with one." Vilkas scoffed, causing the breton before him to raise her brows.

"Actually," She intervened as she turned to the side so the two Companions could see the weapons hanging off the side of her hips. "I prefer axes. Two axes, if you want to get down to the nitty gritty."

Kodlak laughed heartily. "There you go, Vilkas! She may be a breton, but she has the heart of a nord!" Kodlak stood and motioned for her to come closer. "You don't mind if I look at one of your axes, do you?"

"Not at all, sir." Caterina removed the straps and handed him the ebony war axe.

"Please, girl. My name is Kodlak. No need for formalities."

He went on to study the weapon and Caterina curiously glanced over at Vilkas. She smiled as if to win him over with her charm, but Vilkas remained passive, his bright grey eyes staring into her equally as bright blue ones.

"This is perfect craftsmanship. Where did you purchase this?" Questioned the Harbinger as he handed the weapon back to the breton.

"I, uh. Made it." She cleared her throat like she was ashamed to admit it. Even Vilkas found it in him to be slightly impressed.

"Is that so?" Kodlak patted the girl so hard on the back, that Vilkas thought for sure that she'd fall forward after her stumble. "Our blacksmith, Eorlund may have some use of you. He'd surely be impressed, I know that much!"

"Master!" Vilkas stood suddenly and quickly, injuries forgotten as he growled out his disapproval. "You're not truly considering accepting.. her, are you?"

"I am nobodies master, Vilkas. And I see no reason not to. She has a strong heart." Kodlak gave Vilkas a sideways glance. "That's all that matters in the end."

"That and their arm." He commented as he walked up to the breton. Her head only came up to his chest, much to his amusement. He reached for her arm and lifted it up, only to release it immediately after. He walked around her a couple times in silence as he inspected her form.

Pathetic...

Bark! Bark! Bark!

All three warriors turned to see a husky barreling towards them, his tongue flying in the wind like he hadn't a care in the world. The breton bent down and held out her arms, the dog soaring into her form. Surprisingly she didn't go flying backwards as Vilkas would have imagined so. Kodlak bent down and patted the dog on the head while Vilkas stayed back.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know if dogs were allowed in here, so I left him outside." She shrugged her shoulders. "He's a smart dog, but I never taught him how to open doors. Either way, he found his way inside. Let me take him back outside and then I-"

"Nonsense!" Kodlak began scratching behind the dog's ears. "You would be surprised over how many dogs have been in this hall."

Caterina stood and watched Kodlak play with the mutt like they'd both gone back to their childhood. Vilkas shook his head and glared at the girl. Fed up with his attitude, she frowned and furrowed her brows.

"So you don't think I'm worthy, do you?" She glared back at the Nord, her face completely void of amusement.

"I know you're not worthy." He responded back with just as much venom.

Just as they were about to go into a full-blown argument, a Nordic woman came rushing through the halls.

"Bran!" She halted when she came face to face with Kodlak, surprisingly not out of breath for running at such a quickened pace. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Caterina, but that damn dog doesn't listen to me. He only minds you."

"Whose this?" Kodlak turned to look at Caterina who now seemed to be incredibly uncomfortable.

"This is my friend, Serana." She paused. "Who was supposed to be keeping an eye on my dog."

"Do you wish to join the Companions too, girl?" Serana backed up slightly and wrinkled her nose.

"No." She shook her head. "I'm only here in support of my friend, here."

The girl was unlike anyone Vilkas had ever seen. She was nord, that much was known. But there was something about her form. Her skin was extremely pale, even moreso paler than the breton to her left. And her eyes.. Vilkas knew that there were many diseases that caused eyes to darken or lighten, but never in his life had he seen eyes that were as vibrant of a gold as hers. Kodlak, however, didn't seem to notice or care.

"Vilkas. Go out back and have a look at her. See what she can do." He patted Bran on the head once more, and he began to lick his armored fingertips. "You can leave Bran with me, if you wish. I don't mind the company. It's been awhile since I seen such a friendly dog in this hall."

"You're quite welcome to his company any time, Kodlak." She smiled at him and turned to glare at Vilkas once more. The feeling was mutual, girl.

"Oh, and Vilkas?" The harbinger looked to the younger Nord and gestured to Serana. "If she changes her mind, have Farkas see what she can do."

"Aye."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

When Caterina was little, she had always dreamt of joining a great hall of warriors. She never would have imagined she'd have been joining the companions, only to figure out their secrets so she could murder them in their sleep. Or no.. maybe not in their sleep. That's not very honorable, is it?

Kodlak proved to be very modest and Caterina deducted that he couldn't possibly be a werewolf. His kindness towards her was almost suffocating, while Vilkas seemed to have a burning hatred for her for no known reason. It was baffling. She'd have to ask Serana later if Kodlak was a werewolf to confirm her suspicions.

After meeting Vilkas, she realized for the tenth time that year that dogs liked her more than people.

But it was ironic.

Dogs. Not werewolves. She didn't know any werewolves who liked her. Sure she had a way with dogs, but she never attempted to tame a werewolf. That was madness. Was she foolish for leaving Bran with Kodlak? Possibly. But again; how could someone so kind be a werewolf?

Then again, Aela and Farkas were also werewolves and they didn't seem so bad.

She shook her head to clear her mind of the thoughts. Serana would clear it up for her after this. Instead of focusing on her confusing thoughts, she focused on the back of Vilkas in front of her. Never in her life had she met a more rude Nord. That was saying something considering she'd met and killed Lord Harkon. She bit her lip as she noticed how broad his shoulders were. Not that it was important, nor was she attracted to a werewolf, nor was she attracted to someone who gave her such a bad attitude, nor was sh-

She let go of her lip and furrowed her brows. He was attractive, that was obvious. Any woman would inwardly swoon at someone with perfect features. There was nothing wrong with that, even if said attractive man was a werewolf. Right?

They reached the yard and Serana stood off to the side, who was soon awkwardly accompanied by Farkas, who seemed to still have an interest in Serana. It wasn't funny, but seeing the look on Serana's face once the tall Nord sat at the table beside her was too hilarious to not give a chuckle to.

Vilkas grabbed a shield that was lying on one of the vacant tables, his shield apparently. He motioned for her to join him on the cobblestone area and held his shield up in front of his body, sword drawn, but held to his side with no intention of actually using it against her.

"Alright, new blood. Come at me!" Caterina drew both of her axes and wasted no time in slashed at the shield as hard as she could, hoping - no, not hoping, but praying that she could knock him on his ass. She didn't knock him down and he didn't even stumble, much to her dismay, but she did note that when he put down the shield and stopped her, he looked like he'd been in pain prior to their spar. Not that she cared or anything.

"Not too bad for a whelp." He straightened up and urged the breton to do the same. "Kodlak asked me to look at you. So don't protest."

"Why would I protest? I'm having so much fun." She sassed back at him. He ignored her and circled around her form like he previously began to do in the hall. This time, he was a little too touchy for her liking, but like he had ordered, she didn't protest. If she wanted to make this believable, she'd have to play along.

He reached out and grabbed her wrist, inspecting how small it was and making a 'tsk' noise. She glared at him and had the urge to flick him on the forehead. Next, he grabbed at her shoulders and shook her as if he was trying to perform an exorcism. Pointless she thought, but he hummed in response.

"Hold out your arms." She held them out and he sighed and pushed them up until they were both pointing straight in the air. "Higher, whelp."

He placed both hands on either side of her waist, much to her surprise, and began to rub the flesh through the fabric. She cleared her throat as she continued to hold her hands up awkwardly.

"Could I please question what in Tamriel you're looking for right there?" Vilkas looked at the bretons face for the first time in what seemed like thirteen minutes. What he found was bright red cheeks and a very uncomfortable expression on her features. He smirked at the breton.

"No questions asked. You do as you're told. Remember that, whelp."

Caterina sighed and Vilkas reached for the roundness of her rather plump bottom. What he was trying to achieve by doing so, she had no idea. The next thing the breton knew, her axes were both out and Vilkas received two hits in the chest from the impact of the war axes.

"I'M NOT FINISHED TRAINING." She announced to him loudly as she slung her axe until it met his sword. Unlike before, where he simply let her hit the shield, he began actively fighting back until their sparing turned into something of a sword fight.

"Well done, whelp!"

"WELL DONE FOR WHAT?" She yelled as she swung her axes at him once more.

"For passing my test."

"And what would that test be, dear Vilkas?" He swung back at her and she blocked effectively with her axe. It was too easy and that's when she realized that even though he was fighting back, he was letting her win.

It wasn't fair. She wanted to knock him on his ass still.

"Your body is all in working condition and you don't let people bully you around, to boot." He grinned behind the shield. "Many new recruits just blindly let us do whatever we please with them. Those are the ones we let go."

"Test or not, I still don't take kindly to people touching the unmentionables." Vilkas laughed for the first time all day at the breton and how she refused to say the proper terms. In response she continued to go at him.

It was going to be a long training session.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Serana smiled as Caterina went into the training yard with Vilkas. Thus far, everything was turning out exactly the way they'd planned. The master.. err. Harbinger, as he was called seemed to buy Caterina by the look on his face when she arrived most unceremoniously in the hall. That damn dog never minded her and always found a way to get back to Caterina. Spoiled thing.

She was just happy that nobody questioned her when she ran after the dog in the hall. Serana hadn't planned on even stepping into the building, but when Bran took off when someone left the door ajar, she knew he could ruin everything they'd been working so hard to gain. For reasons unknown, she expected the place to be littered in skeletons and blood. Typical stereotype, she knew. She had almost forgotten that werewolves are, more or less, human. More human than her, even.

What she found was surprising. It looked.. normal. Quite homey.

She would have no issue joining the companions with Caterina, but not only did she fear the werewolves themselves, but she also feared that they'd discover her secret, which she couldn't afford to risk. Her past experience with a werewolf that had almost killed her brings her nightmares nearly every night. It was childish to still have that fear.. to still have that ache.

But she couldn't be weak. Not now. She had to be strong. When she followed Caterina and Vilkas outside to spar, she was relieved to find time to get away from the commotion. She smiled as she sat on the seat of one of the picnic tables. Finally she'd get a bit of peace and quiet.

She zoned out for a moment as she recalled how strong of a smell Kodlak had. No doubt he was the oldest werewolf in the bunch. It was a shame, really. All nice werewolves turn bad eventually. Maybe he had already turned and was using his niceness as a way to lure innocent warriors to their death.

Her thoughts were shattered and her eyes widened when she seen that same boneheaded werewolf that she'd met the day before sit across the table from her, his knees awkwardly hitting her own, causing her to shift to the side.

"Sorry." He admitted. "You're here again. Did you join?"

"N-no. I'm here for my friend over there." She jerked her head towards Caterina and Vilkas, who appeared to be testing the bretons strength.

"Oh. New face. That's nice." He looked at Serana, who put a hand over her nose again. "Are you okay? What's wrong with your nose?"

Serana's heart dropped and she felt guilty for not wanting to smell him. But when you had 'super nose sniffing magical abilities' - thank you for the name Caterina - then you smelt things you didn't want to smell. Suddenly she realized that if she was to help Caterina and make this believable, then she would have to play nice.

"This? Oh, no. I'm okay. I just have a cold. Makes my nose somewhat colder." She lied through her teeth. Thankfully he seemed to believe her story.

"Is that why you're so out of it?" He was really blunt, but it was kind of amusing and refreshing. At least he had honesty, whereas some would never be as honest towards her.

"Yes. Sorry if I acted so distant yesterday."

"Lean forward and let me see."

"Let you see what?"

"Your nose."

"O-oh. Okay." She didn't know why she was the most nervous around this werewolf. Sure he was really muscular and could possibly break her in half if he ever changed in front of her, but they were fairly evenly matched when it came to height, her head only slightly less shorter than his. Not to mention Serana was no weakling. She had lived over four-thousand years and she wasn't inexperienced in the art of combat. The vampire blood helped.

But did she want to show him her nose and lean forward? No. But she did anyway, hesitantly removing her hands and leaning forward across the table. He reached over and pinched her nose between his thumb and forefinger, humming the entire time.

"Hm. It is pretty cold." He commented dryly before cupping his hand and pushing it against her face, blocking off the cold air from hitting her nose. Little did he know that her entire body had a chill to it from being a vampire. He didn't have to know that, though.

"Use my hand instead. It's bigger and warmer. It'll help." The tone of his voice never changed.

"Uh. Thanks." I guess. She sat awkwardly, leaning forward just slightly with his hand covering her nose. Honestly, how was someone supposed to react in this situation. Her mind told her to pull away since there was a werewolf with his hand on her nose. But at the same time, her gut told her that he was harmless.

"So why did you lie to me about your name?" Damn. She was hoping he wouldn't ask.

"Brünnhilde is my middle name. So I wasn't technically lying." She slyly remarked back. Unfortunately, Farkas didn't buy it.

"You're lying again, Serana." He smiled at her and in his same gruff voice, remarked on her lying. "It's okay, though. You want to be secretive. It's cute."

Serana tensed up and he seemed to notice, but didn't remark on it, hand still cupped over her nose. It's not everyday a werewolf calls a vampire cute. She remained silent and looked out to the two sparring, Vilkas touching Caterina in ways that were almost shameful, the look on her face seemed to be one of amusement with just a slight bit of embarrassment. She was certainly a trooper for putting up with that asshole.

"You should join the companions." Farkas piped up randomly. "I could be your shield-brother."

"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't feel comfortable going places without Caterina." She looked towards Farkas sympathetically.

"We could all go together. Me, you, and Caterina. But Caterina will have to take her shield-brother or shield-sister with her, too."

Serana went to give a response, but her words were muffled.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked, as she muffled her response once again. Realizing his hand had took to covered her mouth, he swiftly put it back on her nose, scratching the back of his head as he chuckled. "Hah. Sorry about that."

"It's fine." For the first time, she smiled at him. A nice, genuine smile. He was kind of.. sweet in his own way. Still a werewolf, though, her mind told her.

"You really should join, though. Kodlak would let you go on missions with her, I'm sure of it. That way you two can always be together."

It did seem like it would be a good idea. Why was she even here supporting her friend in her endeavors if she wasn't even playing her part? Caterina had begged and pleaded Serana to join them with her, but Serana was too much of a coward to want anything to do with it. How was it then that she was sitting here with a werewolf's hand on her nose and watching Caterina spar with a werewolf, yet couldn't bring herself to join?

She had to remind herself once more that she had a werewolf's hand on her nose. If she could do that, she could do anything. She stood abruptly.

"Test me."

"What?"

"Test me. I want to join. Please!" She reached out and grabbed his hand in desperation. He widened his eyes.

"Sure thing, lady." He looked down at her hands wrapped around his one hand. "You're freezing. Are you sure you're okay? I think I have a spare blanket if you wan-"

"N-no! I'm fine!" She let go and straightened up. "I'm sick, remember?"

He didn't seem convinced, but stood with her and grabbed at her elbow, leading her down to join the other two in their sparing session which.. seemed to be ongoing again? Caterina was viciously attacking the werewolf, the look on his face making Caterina cover her mouth to hide her smile. Apparently he didn't expect much when he took her out there. But hey. Anyone who could defeat her father in battle could do anything. And she truly meant it.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Caterina didn't stop swinging at his shield, still hoping he'd fall on his ass. She only stopped her swings when Vilkas peaked out from over his shield at something behind them.

"Looks like your friend there decided that she wanted to be a companion after all, eh?" He smirked as she lowered her weapons and turned towards the duo who were now dueling each other, Farkas being incredibly gentle. Caterina couldn't help but to smile at Serana who seemed to be making so much progress when it came to getting over her fear.

Her happiness wouldn't last long, though. She felt a hard object hit her hard in the back, her body lurching forward until she was fully on the ground. In her hurried, shocked state, she turned to get up, but was too late. Vilkas was casually leaning over her, sword pressed against the dull, evident scar she had across the side of her neck. He leaned towards her until his mouth was at her ear.

"Never turn your back on the enemy. You'd be dead right now." He grinned at the shocked breton. Even Serana and Farkas turned to look at the duo.

"This wasn't a real battle, because if it was, you'd be on the ground right now, begging me to spare your life."

"Cute." His eyes met the scar on her neck and he casually asked, "Where'd you get the nasty looking scar? Trip over the border on your way here from Cyrodiil?" Smartass.

She wanted to affect him. To really shock him. She wanted payback for him being such an asshole to her. Then it hit her. What better than to turn this around on him?

"Werewolf attack." She paused to take in the look on his face, which changed from cockiness to shock. "But don't worry your little heart. Me and Serana took care of it."

Vilkas stood abruptly and cleared his throat. "This session is over."

Caterina stood up and gathered her axes that had flown out of her hands when the shield had hit her roughly. It was a harsh, cold lie. Caterina had never fought a werewolf. She had, however, fought that grizzly bear. She was such a bitch to kill, too, but he didn't have to know that. She knew she had got under his skin with that comment. Could it compromise the reason they were there? Of course. Did she care? At this point, no.

She was torn from her thoughts when she heard clapping. She turned to the doors and seen Ria and Kodlak cheering them on.

"Good work, Caterina."

"Good work? I knocked her flat on her a-"

"You cheated. That's not what I call honorable."

"Cheated? Ha! You weren't paying att-"

"Liar! You can't jus-"

"I just did, didn't I? I can do what-"

Kodlak put his hands together as he watched the two bicker like an old married couple. Bran, who had followed Kodlak out, began jumping around the two arguing warriors.

"SHUT UP, DOG."

"Don't tell my dog to shut up!" She yelled. "And he has a name!"

And it continued to grow from there until Kodlak put his foot down.

"ENOUGH! The both of you." They stopped their fighting and got silent as Kodlak rubbed his temples. "As I was saying, good work Caterina. You show promise as a great warrior of the Companions."

At this point, Farkas and Serana joined them, Ria immediately turning to the vampire for some compliments on her techniques. Caterina felt bad for fighting in front of Kodlak since he seemed like a respectable man and she didn't want to disappoint him. Which was ironic, really, seeing as how her motives for joining were not one of honor. However, she couldn't stand herself in the presence of this younger werewolf. He was rude and a complete ass that she wanted nothing to do with.

"Also, welcome Serana. It's not everyday we get two new recruits in one single day." He smiled as he spoke. "It warms my heart to see so many young people want to continue fighting for honor."

At that comment, Caterina looked to Serana who had a hand up to her mouth to hide her evident smile. People always mistook that glance for an inside joke that only they knew. Serana was over four-thousand years old, so when someone called her young, she couldn't help but to smile at them.

"I will give you both your first quests tomorrow to see how much honor you bring to the companions. If you prove to be honorable, we will welcome you with open arms. If you prove to be dishonorable, I will have to sadly show you the way out." He paused and looked at Serana, as if pondering what to do with her.

"Serana, since you seem to get along so well, Farkas will be your shield-brother on your honorable quest." Farkas appeared pleased with that choice and perked up immediately. Serana, on the other hand, appeared to have frozen. Apparently everyone just thought she was too shy to speak much. Caterina would happily vouch for her on that.

Now they had to make plans on how she could be safe on this quest with the werewolf, but those are details she didn't want to think about yet.

"Caterina. You've proven your worth in strength, that I know. But do you have honor?" His gaze went from the breton to the nord, still fuming, beside her. "Vilkas. You will be her she-"

"Can't I be Serana's shield-brother instead?" He questioned before he even finished the sentence.

"That's not rude at all," Caterina mumbled before looking to Kodlak. "But I agree. Can't me and Serana go with Farkas? Vilkas doesn't have to go, does he?"

"That's not what I was going to s-"

"At this point, I don't care what you have to say. You're a foul mouth son of a bi-"

"Caterina!" Kodlak's eyes turned stormy as he looked to and from both bickering parties. "Vilkas. Please. Just stop. You are to be her shield-brother in this quest. I want the two of you to get along."

Everyone was smart enough to stay out of Kodlaks conversation, save for the fiery breton and the fuming nord. Apparently they were more alike than they both realized. Kodlak once again began to rub his temples.

"This headache.." He glanced over at Farkas. "Farkas?"

"Yes, master?"

"I am no one's master. How many times do I have to tell you and your brother this?"

"Sorry, master."

Kodlak sighed, but smiled. "I want the two of you to accompany them. You can both do your honorable quest at the same time. I just want you to promise me one thing, Serana?"

"Yes?" Serana lifted her brows at the old man.

"Make sure these two don't kill each other."

"I can definitely do that." Serana smiled widely at the comment. Caterina could practically feel the weight lift off her shoulders when Kodlak assigned them to work together.

Kodlak gave them his farewells, stating that it was getting near midday and an old man needs his mead. Everyone left, Farkas practically pulling Ria away from Serana, with whom she appeared to be fascinated with, saying that her fighting style was so beautiful and graceful.

The only one who stayed, much to her dismay, was Vilkas. Just as she was about to walk away with Serana, he called out to her. Perhaps he'd realized what he'd done and was wanting to apologize for being an utter ass.

"Take my sword up to Eorlund to have it sharpened." He shoved his sword towards the breton, almost causing her to lose balance. "And be careful. It's probably worth more than you are."

With that, he stormed away, retreating back into the hall. Serana gave Caterina a sympathetic look and Caterina sighed, dragging the sword behind her as she began to walk up the hill.

"So what made you change your mind?" Caterina inquired after a moment of silence.

"Farkas told me that it would make sense to join if I wanted to be near you all the time." She looked up at the bright sky. "I can't stand not being with you. You're my dearest friend. What kind of friend would I be if I let you join these guys alone?"

"Aw. That almost brought a tear to my eye." She grinned at the nord, who playfully swatted her arm.

"Oh, hush and face it. You need me just as much as I need you." Serana pulled her hood up further on her head to keep the sun out of her eyes.

It was a few moments of silence again before either spoke up.

"So is Kodlak..?"

Serana gave her a very sad smile and nodded. She had a feeling, but in a way, she didn't really want to hear it. It made her think back to the Dawnguard and Isran. That last thing he said to her before she left...

"I trust you'll actually do what you're assigned this time and instead of befriending the enemy, you'll kill them instead."

He was never going to let the fact that she was sympathetic towards people who haven't harmed anyone unintentionally. Was it Serana's fault her family was full of Molag Bal worshipers? Of course not. It wasn't her fault when she took on the burdens she now has. It wasn't her fault her father sought to enslave the human races across Tamriel. And it got her thinking to how perhaps it was not these people's fault that they were beasts. Hell, she didn't even know if they'd harmed anyone before.

But Isran... she had to make up for her actions. Vilkas on the other hand..

"If Vilkas ever proves to be an enemy, let me be the one to kill him."

Serana lifted her brows at the statement as they reached the Skyforge. She nodded in response, however, refusing to speak on the subject any longer. Serana stayed standing on the first couple steps. Caterina walked up to Eorlund and he immediately grabbed the sword from her hands.

"Ah. New recruit, are you? I seen you and Vilkas down there. He gave you quite the whooping, didn't he?" He chuckled as he set the sword on the forge.

"I am. Are you a companion, too?" She asked, ignoring the comment about getting a beating.

"Nah. I'm just here to make armor and weapons for the Companions. I'm happy to serve."

"Ah. That must be relaxing." She remembered when she had a lot of time back when she was in her teens. Her father had taught her everything she knew and even though she wasn't perfect, she always enjoyed making things. She had wanted nothing more than to be a blacksmith until the day came where the blacksmith her father introduced her to made fun of the poor girl for not being able to lift a large war-hammer. Her dreams were shattered and she lost all hope until her father explained to her that she was meant for something better than being a blacksmith. It made her miss her father thinking about it. Though he went out with a literal bang; telling her that 'being old is is such a bitch' right before his back gave out on him and he stumbled off a cliff.

"Relaxing? Hah. What do you know about smithing, girl?"

"Well I did make my own weapons, so I know a bit about it."

"Really?" He looked down at the ax to her side and reached for it, not minding what she thought about him doing so. "A little rough around the edges, but nice nonetheless. Who taught you?"

"My father, sir. He was a great smith when he was younger."

"Well. I guess you don't need me making weapons for you, eh?" His lips raised slightly, so she assumed that meant his was smiling. Evidently he wasn't one to show emotions.

"Actually I probably do. I haven't had much time lately to do anything with my weapons." She'd give them to him now, but she figured he already had quite a bit on his plate.

"Just give me the word and I'll have them repaired." He studied her for a moment, as if to question if she was truly blacksmith material. Suddenly he reached for a shield next to him and shoved it in her direction. "Do me a favor and take this to Aela? She should be just inside. Bright red hair; green warpaint - can't miss her. My wife is in mourning, else I'd do it myself."

"Of course, sir. I'll get right to it." She smiled. "It was nice to meet you."

"Alright then."

She walked back to Serana, and through clenched teeth, announced that she was a courier today.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

"Ah. I've been waiting for this moment. Glad to see you decided to join." Aela took the shield away from Caterina and stood next to Skjor, her face beaming excitedly.

"You know this one? I seen her training with Vilkas." Skjor noted as he gestured towards the breton.

"Ah, yes. I heard you gave him quite the thrashing before he bashed you in the back with his shield." She remained still, glancing back and forth between Skjor and Caterina. "Think you could take him in a real fight?"

"Perhaps. But I don't really care much for boasting."

Aela laughed and nodded. "I think we'll get along great. Perhaps we'll go hunting together sooner than I expected."

Serana moved out from behind Caterina. She had previously been ignored up until that point in time, her presence going unnoticed. Skjor was the first to realize she was there and decided to question Aela on it.

"Know this one too, Aela?"

"Ah, yes. You were.. pardon me." She cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "What was your name again?"

"Serana."

"She was training with Farkas, just outside. She's quite good. Better than I am at certain things, that's for certain." Caterina broke through to let Serana have a bit of the spotlight here. Though the looks that Aela was shooting at Serana told her that perhaps Aela had a certain prejudice against her for an unknown reason.

Whatever the reason, the silence got awkward real quick until Serana excused herself. Caterina went to join her, but Aela held out an arm to stop her from leaving.

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to say congratulations on being a good first impression." She removed her arm and patted her gently on the back. "And I really do mean it. I think me and you will be good friends."

"Thank you!" The breton beamed at the nord until she gave her a confused expression.

"Where is your bow?"

"Ah. That thing. I'll be forward with you. I'm not exactly the best with a bow. I'm better with my axes." She bit her lip. "It was sheer luck that I even hit that giant."

Aela laughed and loud, too. "Oh that's even better!" She exclaimed. "I can teach you, now. Then we can go hunting."

"Farkas!" Skjor yelled.

Silence.

"FARKAS!"

More silence.

"FARKA-"

"Did you call?" Farkas appeared out of nowhere, which surprised even Bran, who began barking at him.

"Of course we did, icebrain. Show the new bloods where the rest of the new bloods sleep."

"Sure thing." Farkas left and so did Caterina, but not before poking her head back in the door to tell Skjor how nice it was meeting him. Aela and Skjor both gave her an appreciative nod. Just as she returned to follow Farkas, she ran straight into Serana, who quickly pulled her into the shadows of a corner.

"What's wrong?" Caterina asked as she placed both hands on her forearms.

"Those two - they know."

"Know what?"

"That I'm.. what I am." It was strange, but Caterina never really took into consideration Serana being a vampire. It was natural to her. So when she realized what she had meant, high pitched bells rang throughout her mind.

"Are you absolutely positive?"

"Caterina, we've been through this before. First with you not believing that these people were werewolves to begin with and now this?" She shook her head. "Don't give up faith on me now."

"I won't. Don't worry." She pulled Serana in for a hug and heard Farkas question where they both went. "We should go meet up with him again. We'll talk later, okay? And don't worry. I got your back!"

"I know you do." Serana looked over to Farkas, who was searching aimlessly in circles. "You always do."

They both stepped out and back into the light, Bran running around them happily as they went to follow the werewolf to what could possibly be the last room they'd ever see.

But as Caterina had a tendency to do, she thought positive. So what if she were going to sleep in a building full of werewolves? She always slept next to a vampire, so honestly what was the difference?

And if anything, Bran was a good guard dog. Whether or not he could take on werewolves or not.. well that was debatable. Especially when Bran bounded ahead to lick Farkas' fingers. It was going to be a long evening.


	3. Warriors and Hunters

"I don't think." Aela crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "I know."

"What should we do about it?" Skjor slammed the tankard of mead down on the table so hard that some of the contents splashed onto the floor. "This isn't something that happens everyday."

"I don't know." Aela paused and took a seat, elbows resting on the table. "She didn't seem like much of a threat, but I can't trust her."

"Trust?" Smirked Skjor. "I don't think anyone can trust a vampire."

Aela and Skjor both exchanged knowing glances at one another. They've gotten quests leading them to vampires before, so it's not like they were inexperienced in the field. But they've never actually been up close to a vampire who didn't attack and chose to make conversation instead.

"What about that breton with her?" Skjor inquired. "Why do you think she hasn't sucked the blood out of her yet?"

"Beats me. I'm just happy that she made it here unharmed." Aela took a sip of her ale. "If the vampire woman tries anything with her or any of the other new bloods, I'll introduce her to my bow."

"Well said!" He took another big gulp of his mead. "Though it is curious. The fact that she is traveling with the bloodsucker."

"I'd say that perhaps she doesn't know, but I feel like theres more to it than that." Aela shrugged her shoulders. "Seems like good, long-time friends to me. But we'll get to the bottom of it."

"We always do." Grinned Skjor as he raised his tankard up to hers, mead and ale splashing in every which direction.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

"I just don't know why you have to go and be so mean to her." Farkas commented.

Vilkas glared at his brother, the look he was giving him was rather sympathetic as if he knew something that he didn't. Vilkas sighed and placed a hand on his forehead in aggravation.

"I told you already. She annoys me." Vilkas stood from his seated position, his pack of resources slung over his shoulder.

"In what way, brother?" Farkas questioned, not caring if he was annoying his brother in the process.

Vilkas opened his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why he hated her. She was talented, that was for sure. She could craft weapons, but judging from her size, not big weapons. She had quite the hit with those weapons of hers, but when he hit her in the back, she fell over like a bag of rocks.

"Well?"

"She's just so..." Vilkas reached for his helm and placed it on his head as he wracked his brain to figure out what word he was looking for. Fortunately for him, they all came flooding to him. "Laughable! She's the most ungraceful warrior I've ever seen in my life. She's sarcastic. She has a foul mouth. Her waist, brother! - it's smaller than your arm! There is no way she'll ever amount to anything. A weakling? In the Companions? Hah. She's just-"

Vilkas stopped his ranting and looked at his brother who was smiling widely.

"What is it?"

"You sure do have her memorized quite a bit. Are you sure it isn't the opposite of hate?" Farkas patted his brother on the back in a way-to-go fashion. Vilkas backed away from him, shaking his head.

"No, no, no. You've got that all wrong." Vilkas disagreed. "I'm not attracted to her one bit. Did you see her height? Hah."

"I don't think height really has anything to do with liking someone."

"Maybe in your book." He paused, interest peaked as he picked up a tankard of mead. "Do.. do you find her pretty?"

"I do." Farkas nodded. "She has a nice butt."

Vilkas coughed, the mead going down in all the wrong ways causing him to widen his eyes and hit his chest, Farkas assisting in anyway he could. Mainly by asking if he was okay and awkwardly patting his shoulder.

"You alright, brother?"

"I-I am. But," He glanced at his brother and wiped the mead off his chin. "Sometimes you can be a little too forward. What did I tell you about that?"

"Better than being a liar." He shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, don't you think we should go meet up with Serana and Cat?"

"Cat now, is it?"

"Caterina is too long. Cat sounds better, don't you think?"

"Eh." Vilkas grabbed his pack of resources and shoved it towards his brother to carry. "I suppose. Not nearly as cute as a cat, though."

"If you say so, brother." Farkas smirked as he followed his brother out the door and towards the room for new-bloods.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

"I still don't see why they let you join in the first place." Njada Stonearm crossed her arms as she looked down at the crumpled up form of Caterina. Ever since they were properly introduced the night before, she'd done nothing but harp on the Breton for being able to join a high rank of warriors. Now here she was, tripping over thin air and hearing the snarky comments from the stubborn Nordic woman who was now tapping her foot impatiently for her to get up.

"Look. I don't know what your problem is." Caterina stood and got as close to her as possibly in a threatening manner. "I haven't done a thing to you, so I suggest you back off."

"Sure thing, whelp." She laughed and used a single finger to push on her forehead, succeeding in making her step back. "You're not worthy. I'll keep saying that until my dying breath." She started to walk away, but not before looking back to give one last snarky comment. "Or until your dying breath, I should say. You're not gonna last three single minutes in Dustman's Cairn. Kodlak should have assigned me to get those fragments."

She walked out and Caterina had every intention of following her, but she was held firmly in place with familiar hands. Serana looked sympathetically at her friend and shook her head.

"The best way to prove her wrong is to succeed in this mission." She cleared her throat and placed her hands by her side. "Best have a clear head, yes?"

"Yeah, you're right." Caterina sighed and rubbed her head. "I just don't understand what I did to get two people to hate me."

"Oh, I dunno." Serana smiled fondly. "Maybe they're just jealous."

"Of what?" Caterina chuckled. "My noodle arms?" She flexed her arms jokingly, but Serana did notice muscles - not big, but still present.

"You think too little of yourself." She tugged on her friend's arm. "Come on. I have a surprise for you."

Caterina was pulled towards their bed by force, her feet dragging occasionally like a child about to be scolded. She groaned when they reached their bedside, Serana popping open the trunk that belonged to them. Each bed had a trunk, but since they were low on beds at the current time, Serana and Caterina were forced to share storage space. Not that Caterina minded much. They shared everything else. Also, the only other bed available was the one in the room designated for the men and Caterina would sooner die than to be forced to sleep in a room with males surrounding her. Typically, Njada poked fun at the two women for sharing a small one-man bed with each other. But she couldn't focus on her at the moment, so she returned her gaze back to the vampire.

"Here!" Serana smiled proudly as she placed a heavy armor set onto their bed. "Remember when I went to, uh.. feed last night?"

"Yes?"

"Well I lied!" Serana put her hands in front of her and shook her head. "Not fully. I did get my fill, but when I returned, I stopped at the Skyforge to talk to Eorlund. I asked him about making you some armor since I know you work better in heavy and not light like I do. He said he already had some made to fit you."

"You did that for me?" Caterina smiled as she reached out to touch the cold plate. "But already had some made? How? He couldn't have worked that fast overnight."

"Oh, it's, uh. Not important, really." She scratched the back of her head.

"It kind of is, Serana." The Breton bit her lip as she glanced at her friend then back to the armor.

"A former member. A Breton just like you. She, uh." Serana paused as if to think about her words. "Died a few months ago and now her armor is of no use to her. But don't worry! She didn't die in the armor."

"That.. makes me feel so much better." Caterina chuckled. "You gave me haunted, possibly cursed armor."

"Oh, shut up and put it on."

"Fine." She began to put on the shiny armor, finding that it fit her perfectly. When she fully replaced her leather scraps she had equipped, it brought back memories. She missed her Dawnguard armor so much. It was perfect and she'd had been using it for so long. The only thing else she had were the offending leather scraps that she'd been wearing since she left Fort Dawnguard. But it would have been stupid to wear it, seeing as how they were supposed to hide their identities.

"So how do I look?" Serana tapped a finger to her chin as if she were a true judge. The dark grey, black, and silver armor looked oddly perfect on the Breton. However, the tiny wolf heads in various places made Serana a bit uneasy.

"I think you look great, shield-sister." Serana and Caterina both looked to the new voice. Farkas stood with his arms crossed in the doorway, Vilkas standing behind him with a grimace on his face.

"Typically that armor is worn by senior members. Y'know. Members that have proven their worth." Every word that came out of his mouth was like venom. She wanted to hit him.

"It was all Eorlund could find for her, shield-brother. You don't want her going in a place like Dustman's Cairne with mere scraps, do you?" Caterina looked to Serana, clearly impressed. Snarking back at a werewolf? Maybe she needed some of her courage today. Even Vilkas looked taken aback at the usual silent nord.

"Don't worry your little head about it." Announced Caterina as she slung her traveling bag over her shoulder, eyes trailing from Vilkas to Farkas. "I promise to give this straight back to Eorlund upon my return."

"But he said that you co-" Caterina shushed the vampire in mid-sentence.

"I was thinking of making my own armor. Give it a go, eh?" The breton grinned up at the nord woman. "Perhaps Daedric. Though I'd need to gather quite a few Daedra Hearts and they've been quite scarce lately." The breton tapped her chin as Serana let out a small laugh.

"You'd look quite terrifying in that kind of armor, I'm sure."

"Heh. Like a skeever wearing a tutu." The comment from Vilkas made his brother chuckle.

"A skeever.. in a tutu. That's a funny image." The giant nord looked over to Caterina, who appeared to be taken aback. "Not that I imagine you looking like that. I imagine that you'd look fierce, shield-sister."

"I heard of a tale back home in Cyrodiil that if you kept telling lies, your nose would grow." The breton commented, smiling slyly as Farkas' hand shot up to his nose.

"Very funny." He scowled before putting his hand back down, Vilkas shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well I suggest we get going." Vilkas looked to his shield-sisters, his face still in a grimace. "Are you both packed?"

Serana patted her side where she kept her satchel at all times, Caterina gesturing to the pack slung over her shoulder.

"Alright then. Let's go." He grunted. "I want to get back as soon as possible since I'll no doubt have a migraine before this is over and done with."

Caterina raised her brows as she followed behind the two werewolves, the Vampire and Bran, wearing his adorable doggie armor, following closely behind. This was indeed going to be a long trip.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Auriel's Bow was such a pain in the ass. The entire journey there was spent with Farkas occasionally humming, Vilkas growling as if traveling with them was causing him physical pain, Serana picking at non-existent lint off of her light armor, and Caterina continuously pulling Auriel's Bow further up her back, which seemed impossible to keep from sliding down her clunky armor, and also giving death glares at Vilkas who kept glancing at the woman with an annoying curiosity.

When she finally got a better hold on the bow, she dug around in her pack before pulling out a ripe, juicy apple. She took a bite out of it, causing all three of her companions to look at her as if she insulted them by breaking the silence.

"What?" She bit into the apple again, Farkas looking hungrily down at her pack. Getting the hint, she pulled out another apple - perhaps not as ripe and tasty as her own - and handed it to Farkas, which he took happily.

"Thanks, Cat."

"Cat?"

"Do you like it? I think it's a cute nickname."

"Hm." She swallowed a chunk of her apple. "Only if I can call you Fark."

Bran barked to her left, bounding happily behind her. She smiled. "Fark. Not bark." She patted him on the head. "Silly dog."

"Fark is a good name." Farkas seemed proud of his new nickname. He looked down at his apple, which he consumed in about three bites. Vilkas finally spoke up after much silence.

"So what are you going to call me? Vilk?" He smirked in amusement, but she could still sense his annoyance with her.

"No." She pondered at first before coming up with a name that suited him well. "I'll call you asshole."

Farkas about choked on his apple at that point, his laughter booming in the silent woods causing squirrels and fox to run about like they'd been spotted by a predator.

"Nice one, Cat."

"And just whose side do you think you're on?" Vilkas held up his hands in defeat as he looked to his brother then back to Caterina. "Sure you don't want to switch shield-brothers, girl?" He questioned as he looked at the nord woman.

"Hm? Oh..." Serana finally spoke up. "Farkas has shown me kindness. Something you've yet to show my friend, here. I think once you've had an attitude change, we can think about being friends."

Vilkas appeared to have been taken aback at her statement, but didn't let it become too prominent. He remained silent the rest of the way, him and Farkas in the lead with Serana and Caterina in the middle. Bran, of course, was following behind barking at every squirrel and rabbit that crossed their path.

It seemed like ages before they finally reached Dustman's Cairne, the moon now high up in the sky. It had taken them half a day to get here. The interior was dusty and all-around not very breathable. The first room looked like it had been thoroughly searched, indicating that they were not alone. Farkas looked around at some of the dead Draugr, kicking them lightly with his foot.

"Dead."

Obviously. Serana couldn't hide her smile. Neither could Caterina for that matter. Farkas was the kind of person to really grow on you for his simple mindedness. His only downfall was that he was a beast. Sad to think about at times, but she couldn't help but inwardly grin and laugh evilly as she stared at the back of Vilkas. Oh, how she'd love to slice through that thick skull of his with her axes. Vilkas caught wind of her staring at him and cleared his throat.

"We should probably split up. Two of us can stay back here and look for clues and the others can go on ahead to the next room. It'll be quicker that way." He spoke, as he looked at Serana, desperation in his eyes.

"Of course." She nodded and grabbed ahold of Caterina. "We can scout ahead and check ou-"

"No." Farkas intervened. "We need to see that you're honorable. Serana, you can come with me to the next room. Caterina, you can stay back with Vilkas."

"But can't I come with you?" Caterina was pleased to see Vilkas agree with her. Something they had in common for once - shocking. The only thing they had in common, probably. Farkas just shook his head.

"Fine." Vilkas turned away from Caterina, walking over to explore some of the contents on the table. Serana gave the Breton a panicked glance, seemingly alarmed that she was going to be left alone with Vilkas. Caterina smiled and gestured to Bran to let her know she'd be okay. Serana seemed still wary of leaving her alone, but finally took it upon herself to catch up to the werewolf.

Vilkas cleared his throat, but remained silent for the first few minutes of their exploring. Caterina had kneeled down to glance at the fallen form of the Draugr while Vilkas shuffled through an old burnt book, trying to either decipher some of the old text or simply trying to ignore her. She couldn't tell which.

"So what part of Cyrodiil are you from?" Caterina glanced up from her kneeled position to look at the nord, whose nose was still in the book.

"The Imperial City." She was curious as to why he was even speaking so calmly to her, but she figured she wouldn't ruin it. "Where are you from?"

"Ah. That's indeed a wonderful city, I hear." He turned a page in the book, brows furrowing. "Lots of knowledge to be found in the vast library there, I'm sure." He finally shut the book, either finding it to be pointless or perhaps he was actually interested in speaking some more. "I've been in Whiterun almost my entire life - me and my brother, both."

"So you've been a Companion for how long?" She looked up at Vilkas who was slowly approaching her.

"Since me and him were pups, running around and biting knees." He spoke as if it brought back extremely good memories. "But that was awhile ago."

"So tell me about your family?" She asked, but regretted it almost immediately after. "Or.. you don't have to if it's a tender subject."

"No, no. It's not. It's fine." He sighed. "Jergen brought me and my brother to Jorrvaskr when we were very young. We're still not so sure if he was our father, but he's gone now, so it does not matter." He paused and looked down at the breton, who became increasingly fascinated with something within the Draugrs hand. "Tell me about your family?"

"Oh, what's to tell." She shrugged as she began poking at the Draugr's curled up hand with the hilt of her axe. "My father was a blacksmith and my mother was a high ranking mage in the mages guild. She was.. heh.. kind of disappointed that I didn't follow her path, but my sister made her proud. Only a few years younger than me, but... oh, Mara. She was born with a natural talent - that's for sure."

Vilkas smiled fondly at the breton for once, the previous tension in the room vanishing.

"I'm glad you did not take the path of a mage. Magic wielders tend to put me on edge." He made a face. "A cowards choice of combat, if you ask me."

"Well I'm glad we see eye to eye. I always found weapons, particularly axes to be quite useful. Besides." She laughed. "Last time I tried to cast a spell, I burnt the hair off of my mothers pet cat. It was quite the sight to see, though!"

Suddenly the Draugr made one of the worst noises she'd ever heard and it lunged forward towards the unprepared Breton. Vilkas, thankfully, was quick enough to - quite literally - stomps the creatures head into the floor. Caterina looked sheepishly at the Nord and grunted.

"Please don't tell me that counted towards my evaluation."

"Nah." He looked curiously at the Breton, who bent down to pick up the shiny item she'd been trying to retrieve from the Draugr. "What is that you have there?"

"A ruby." She lifted it up for Vilkas to see. "I figured it may come in handy. For what yet? I'm not sure." She plopped the ruby into her satchel and Vilkas seemed genuinely impressed that the Draugr attack didn't phase her. Caterina seemed to shrug it off.

"So should we meet back with those two? I don't think there's anything here that'll help us in our quest." Caterina nodded and gathered her things before standing back up. It was silent until they made it to the end of the room, Vilkas looking down at her curiously.

"Motierre."

"Excuse me?"

"Motierre. Where have I heard that name before?"

"Ah." She scratched her head nervously as if she didn't want to talk about it. In truth, she didn't. Most of her family members were part of different organizations that she didn't wish to be a part of or compared to. It made her feel small. But why would lying do any good? She'd eventually have to kill the man asking the questions anyway.

"You've probably heard of my uncle, Amaund Motierre. He's a member of the Elder Council. I don't think he's exactly.. stable." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I admit that my surname is a wealthy and powerful name. I'm just.. not the type of person to boast, I suppose."

"My kind of person." Vilkas grinned, looking genuinely happy for a change. "You let your decisions in life speak for you. I like that."

Caterina was about to send out a snarky comment towards his change in attitude when she heard a howl from the next room. Serana! She didn't wait for Vilkas and instead rushed ahead, all thoughts leaving her mind save for her friend.

That is, until a large humanoid wolf charged past her and into the next room, Bran chasing after him like he was a new playmate. Vilkas?

❤ - ❤ - ❤

"You've been really silent today." Farkas commented, looking at the vampire with concern. "Is that sickness still bothering you?"

"Nah. I'm just a little out of it today, is all." She smiled and kicked a pebble with her foot. "Thanks for your concern, though."

Farkas grunted in response and began to look around the large room, mumbling to himself about avoiding the alchemy table in the corner. Serana was still quite on edge about being in the company of werewolves, especially when she took the time to think back on why her fear came to be. She shook her head, wanting all the bad memories to go away completely. Farkas, for reasons unknown, made her fear not as prominent. It wasn't as thought she trusted him - oh, no. But he had the kind of attitude that made her more comfortable.

Vilkas on the other hand - hah. He was a joke.

She left the werewolf to explore some of the various items off to the side of the room, searching aimlessly for Wuuthrad or whatever it was called. She honestly didn't care about this quest as much as she should. It would all prove to be pointless when they revealed themselves eventually and slaughtered them in a similar fashion to how they slaughtered innocent people.

She had actually been thinking on it and assumed that if her and Caterina were able to kill them when on their own while during this search, it would make life so much easier on them. They'd both have backup and they'd both eliminate two of the problems. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Serana had no desire to think such thoughts. Especially when she heard a vial in the corner break and Farkas staring down stupidly at the little burst of green flame that had sprouted from the shattered pieces. He mumbled something incoherent about magic users and walked further away. She had no desire in her at all to kill him.

Serana lost all thoughts of the werewolf when she spotted something in a small, closed in area of the room. She curiously approached and beamed when she discovered a few bottles of healing tonic. It would come in handy, that was for sure. She grabbed the bottles and plopped them into her satchel and was about to leave the small area, but the lever caught her interest. She knew from experience with Caterina that levers like this were normally meant for opening doors - a common nord practice, particularly in the north. So she followed her gut instincts and yanked on it.

She should not have done that.

Bars she hadn't known even existed fell down and trapped her in the small room. A fake lever! She had to give props to whoever built the now ancient ruins for being so clever. She had just hoped that she could get out somehow.

"Now look at what you got yourself into, lady." Farkas approached, a look of worry crossing his face. "Don't worry. I'm sure there's a lever here somewhere. Let me look."

Before Farkas had the chance to even walk away, he was approached and surrounded by four men and a woman, all wearing similar armor with blades that shone like no other - silver. They were all very hostile towards Farkas. Serana would have had no problem casting one of her lightning bolt spells, as she couldn't very well use her dagger while trapped in the cage, but she was no idiot. She knew how metal reacted to lightning and wasn't going to risk electrocuting herself. While it wouldn't kill her, she still didn't fancy a few hairs on end.

"Which one is that?" Spoke the woman.

"It doesn't matter. If he wears that armor, he's a dead man!"

"This will make for an excellent story," The Imperial woman purred, a cocky smirk on her face. "Don't you think, dog?"

"It's only too bad neither one of you will be alive to tell it." He growled - no, literally; he growled. Serana widened her eyes as Farkas dropped his greatsword on the ground, it landing with a loud thump. Then she seen something she had never thought she'd ever have the pleasure of seeing again. His smooth skin vanished and fur took it's place, the hair on his head got longer with each passing second, and his armor seemed to transform right into his skin; disappearing without a trace.

The wolf howled before charging forward and swiping at the men and woman, the latter going flying into the alchemy table, her body landing with a rough crunch that Serana had heard, even from there.

This was not good.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Vilkas smiled genuinely at the breton. Perhaps she was not as bad as she seemed, but he still found himself annoyed with her for unknown reasons. He did not know why he was taking Serana's advice, for he didn't truly want to be friends with the nord who looked like she had some sort of skin disease. He shuddered thinking of how his brother seemed infatuated with her. No - maybe he had just wanted to end their petty war. Maybe even after this quest, they'd become better shield-siblings. He always hated making enemies, but he couldn't blame it on her. He had been the one to comment about her weak looking stature upon first meeting.

Maybe he judged people by their appearance too much.

He looked to Caterina as she opened her mouth to speak, but his thoughts were in every which way when he heard his brother howl. The only time werewolves howled was when there was danger. It was a warning, in a sense, to protect himself and his companion. He would have done just that, shielding the girl with bones that he could literally snap in half, but the girl, being stupid as she was, decided to charge forward.

He groaned as she disappeared around the corner, and found the only thing left to do was transform and join his brother. No doubt the Silver Hand was here. He growled and transformed, all facial features that distinguished him from others, vanishing as he became one with the night. A beast with bright yellow eyes.

He prayed to Talos that they would not hate them after this night.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Caterina's heart felt like it fell ten feet in her chest when she looked at the sight that was awaiting her in the next room. Serana, trapped in a cage, and two werewolves sending people soaring through the sky; killing them on impact. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, since she heard in ancient times that werewolves had no clear mind when in their beast form. Would they attack her on sight? Maybe. But her mind only had one thought - Serana.

"Serana!" She drew her bow with every intention to shoot at one of the beasts - who? She could not tell, for in beast form, they both looked alike. Aiming perfectly at the slightly bigger werewolf, she was about to let her arrow fly when she was approached by one of the men, a silver dagger in his hand. She had no choice but to change her aim and shoot him through the gut, his body lurching back from the force of her sunhallowed arrow. She'd have been proud of that aim, but he was five feet away, so it was no great feat.

She looked back to Serana, who appeared to be quite... frightened? She could not tell at this angle, but she had only hoped she was okay. Both of the werewolves went into the next room, more screams and growls being heard after their departure. She ran towards the cage and began tugging on the bars in desperation.

"Did it lock you up in here?" It was referring to Farkas, who had shown his true colors after all this time. Serana appeared to have held her head in place, for she spoke calmly as could be.

"No. I pulled this lever and it locked me in here. It was a trap. Brilliant, I must say, but quite inconvenient." Then she got really serious, her face full of concern. "If they attack you when they come back, I'd never forgive myself. Go - run! And take Bran with you."

Bran appeared to be distressed at this point, pawing gently and whining at the bars. But Caterina refused to leave her - not after all she'd done for her.

"No. I can fight them! I've fought off plenty of vampires before. Two werewolves is nothing." She tossed her bow onto the ground and pulled out both of her ebony axes, more than prepared for when they charged back in. Unfortunately, or fortunately, really; they came back into the room moments later, the bars retracting back up into their secret hold that had previously trapped Serana. She'd have had no issues with fighting the two wolves, only that they had transformed back.

Completely different from the horror stories her mother used to tell her at night. But no matter. They were still beasts and she'd have cut them both through at that very moment if Farkas hadn't spoken up.

"I hope I didn't scare you." Caterina didn't appear to be as hostile as she had a moment ago, but she still didn't lower her weapons.

"Stay back!" She yelled. "I'll have no issue in cutting both of your heads off."

"Heh. If we wanted to kill you, you'd both be dead by now." Vilkas announced as he flexed his muscles that appeared to be quite sore. Not that she cared about him. He was a werewolf and an even worse human being. She scoffed.

"I clearly doubt that, wolf." She got a firmer grip on her weapons as Vilkas approached, even going as far to stepping forward a step to show that she wasn't going to back down.

Vilkas stopped in his tracks when he heard Serana loudly voicing her opinion.

"STAY BACK, WEREWOLF!" Serana was in the corner, lightning trembling around her fingertips. Farkas didn't seem to listen well enough and took a step in the caged room with her, only for her lightning to shoot out and toss him out of the room and onto his back. Taking advantage of the situation and Vilkas' distraction, Caterina sliced at his arm, but only grazed it; the only part of skin she could find below his neck. Vilkas cursed loudly and doubled over in pain for only a few moments before aiming to pull the weapons out of her hand. Caterina brought her leg up and kicked at his knees, holding her weapons up even tighter; the bright red blood of the werewolf coating her axe.

"Shor's bones, girl!" He ran to help his brother up, who appeared to be quite dazed after getting electrocuted.

"Serana..? That.. hurt." His eyes came into focus and he glanced at the women in the room, her eyes literally glowing red as she let her fangs show. Farkas widened his eyes as he looked at the vampire glaring at him.

"You're traveling with a vampire!?" Vilkas announced loudly as he looked back at Caterina.

"You have no right to talk, scum. You're both werewolves. I was ordered to kill you as soon as I seen you transform." She smirked. "No where to hide now, is there?"

"Wait." Vilkas held his hands up, a look of disbelief making their way across his features. "Ordered? Are you part of the Silver Hand?" He raised his voice as if it was a true insult and for once, Caterina had a small twinge of fear cross her features. She shook her head no.

"Of course not. I wouldn't lower myself by being part of such a degrading organization." She scoffed. "Worse than Vigilants of Stendarr."

"Then who do you work for? Who? Tell me, dammit!" Vilkas tugged his brother up, who appeared to be more confused than anything. Apparently the lightning still had a rather powerful impact on the younger brother.

"The Dawnguard. She's part of the Dawnguard. Vampire hunters." Commented Serana as she looked back and forth between the wolf brothers. "She was sent to kill you."

"The Dawnguard?" Vilkas looked impressed for a moment, almost as if he wanted to take back all the pathetic and weak comments he threw at her on their first meeting just the day before.

"But.. wait. I'm confused. If you're a vampire hunter then why are you trying to kill us? We're not vampires." Farkas piped up, shaking his head as if to clear it from the lightning damage.

"The Dawnguard doesn't hunt just vampires." Serana dashed over to Caterina as she spoke, not trusting either one of them from jumping towards her friend. "They hunt anything dangerous to humanity. Vampires, werewolves, witches, and so on."

"Then why are you friends with the hunter, Serana?" Farkas, despite being previously electrocuted by the vampire, still showed concern. Something that even Serana seemed to believe, judging from her expression. Caterina, however, wouldn't go so low and believe it were true.

"It's a long story." Spoke Serana, her voice lower than normal.

"Well we have all damn day, so please! - do tell us." Vilkas spoke in his raised voice, pacing back and forth in front of the two women, the bretons axes still drawn and raised in a defensive stance.

"I don't think it's any of your business, really."

"That's where you're wrong, little Cat."

"No. You're wrong, asshole."

"Please stop!" Serana yelled, her facial expression turning quite sour. "Let's explain it to them, Caterina. They do have the right to know."

"Why would they have the right to know? Why would I even give them a chance to speak?" She huffed, looking at the vampire in annoyance.

"Because you gave me the chance to speak and look where it got us."

"Over half of your vampire family is dead and the Dawnguard hates me. I remember." Caterina snapped back, though it didn't appear to phase Serana as she had hoped it would. Instead, she reached over and yanked one of the axes out of her hand, the action catching her off guard. The next thing she knew, the vampires foot swiped under her own, making the breton topple onto the cold, hard ground, her other weapon flying out of her hand.

"S-serana! What are you doing?" Caterina began to panic. "What if they attack us?"

"Caterina! Don't you see what you're doing?" Serana scowled, hands resting on her hips. "They didn't attack us, even when I shot Farkas with lightning in self-defense. Let us hear their side of the story and they can hear ours. Let us at least get an understanding of each other before we all jump down each others throats to shed pointless blood."

"If they attack you, don't be surprised when I say I told you so." Caterina smarted back, grabbing at the bow she dropped earlier after seeing the werewolves transform. She notched the arrow, but it remained facing the ground. Serana just shook her head sadly.

"You're starting to sound like Isran." Serana put her hands back down at her side. "I thought you were better than that."

It was silent for a few moments as Caterina sat there on the ground, Bran licking at her elbow sadly. Caterina had defended Serana from the Dawnguard because she had proved to be one of the nicest vampires she'd ever seen. It was hard for her to even consider her a vampire since that thought left her mind on more than one occasion. She didn't call her a vampire. She preferred the term friend.

Now here she was, insulting and threatening to kill werewolves that have, to this point, shown no hint of even harming humans, save for those who have actively tried to kill them. Caterina stared at the ground, not bothering to interrupt Serana who was speaking as calm as could be, telling them every detail of their meeting and the Dawnguard.

"My father wanted me dead. Caterina was the only one who stood up for me, who protected me and became a dear friend, despite being.. what I am." Serana faced Farkas directly. "I do not trust werewolves. I have had a long history with them and I'm ashamed to admit that I am quite fearful of the beast blood, but you have been good to me, Farkas. Thank you."

Caterina remained silent.

"So you single-handed defeated a vampire lord?" Vilkas questioned, seemingly calmer than he previously was. "That's.. impressive."

"I suppose." Caterina bit her tongue to keep her from spewing out insults. Perhaps she really was like Isran. Somehow, the thought didn't upset her as much as it should have.

"So you won't kill us?" Vilkas smirked as he chuckled. "Or try to, I should say."

"I didn't say that." Caterina glared at the tall nord and stood, her bow still notched.

"Isn't it like your code of honor or something?" Farkas remarked, still keeping his distance from the two women.

"Code of honor?"

"Yeah. You didn't kill the vampire because she was nice. Have we- er. I been nice?" Farkas gave a sideways look to Vilkas, with whom he realized hadn't been too friendly ever since he'd met the breton.

"Yes, Caterina. The code, right?" Serana asked as she looked over to the shorter women, a smile on her face.

"We don'-"

"Yes, you do."

She had went from glaring at Vilkas to glaring at Serana. She was in disbelief over how just the previous day she went from wanting to destroy the werewolves to having sympathy for them. She knew exactly what it was, too. That damn Farkas. She removed the arrow from her bow and placed it in the holder, the bow going limp in her hand.

"Fine. I won't kill you." Caterina looked down at Bran, who began to run around Farkas and Vilkas both, barking non-stop and wagging his tail. "But only because my dog trusts you."

"Your dog is smart." Farkas commented as he reached down to scratch the huskies head.

"So Serana told you every detail about me and the Dawnguard." The breton stared at Vilkas. "How did you transform to werewolves?"

"It's none of your business, hunter."

"Ha! As if. She just told you all my business. The least you can do is-"

"Why? So you can find more reasons to kill us?"

"No, so I can-"

"Shut it, you two!" Farkas raised his voice, alarming the vampire at his side. Strange that Serana found comfort next to the big oaf. It made Caterina almost feel queasy to see it. "Just stop being so stubborn, Vilkas."

"It's not in our place to tell outsiders of our secrets, brother."

"I understand." He remained still for a moment. "All members of the Circle are werewolves. It's a special trait given to high ranks. It makes us big and powerful, but we don't hurt no one."

"You idiot!"

"Watch the name calling, brother. That's rude."

"Wait, wait." Caterina raised her hands and lowered them a couples times to let them know she wanted them both to shut their traps. "This happened on purpose?"

"Of course. It's a blessing." Vilkas commented. "Or some think it is anyway. Either way you look at it, we haven't harmed anyone. So until you see us do, which is more than unlikely, you should stick to that code you have."

"I guess." Caterina shrugged her shoulders, not really knowing what to think at that point. All she knew was that she was going to disappoint Isran again if she continued on this path. "We can stick around for a bit longer. But I swear, if you do one thing that's out of line, I'm shooting you in the face."

Vilkas laughed, seemingly amused at her threat. "I'll be looking forward to that."

"So let's go get the fragments now?" Serana handed Caterina one of her axes back and gave her an apologetic look.

"Fine. Sure. Might as well complete the quest." Caterina dragged her feet as she walked towards the werewolf brothers.

"Don't sound so eager." Vilkas responded as he began to walk down the hallway. Farkas followed close behind, but occasionally looked back at the two women. Serana put a hand on Caterina's shoulder to keep her from going forward.

"Let's just see how this goes, okay?" She smiled softly. "I just don't want you to regret doing anything, alright?"

Caterina said nothing. She nodded her head and went to catch up with the men, Bran already out of sight as he explored ahead.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

A member of the Dawnguard!? Vilkas almost couldn't believe what he'd heard. Though he should have known. The Dawnguard was full of many different races; Orcs, Bretons, Redguards, Nords, and so on and so forth. It was just surprising seeing as how she looked so weak. Perhaps that's one way the Dawnguard tricked the enemy.

He knew Serana had to be something other than human. Her eyes were a dead giveaway and since she came out as a vampire, it all made perfect sense. He thanked Talos that the Breton actually was sympathetic towards the supernatural and vile, else he feared he and his brother really would have been in danger. Killing a vampire lord? Vilkas shuddered, but regained his composure. He beat her in the courtyard, so perhaps she defeated the lord by sheer luck. He smiled to himself. If this all worked out in the end, they'd both prove to be useful assets to the Companions. Good, strong warriors. But he'd never let Caterina know that.

He still had a hatred towards the Breton for unknown reasons. It mattered not who she was or what he did. He wanted nothing more than to push her against a wall and bite her face off. Or.. maybe not that brutal. He looked to his brother.

"You didn't seem so against those two. Why is that?"

"Kodlak trusts them. And I trust Kodlak."

"Hm." He could not doubt that. Kodlak could see the worth of people by just looking at them. He shouldn't mistrust any sort of judgement from the old man.

Farkas seemed dazed for a moment before halting to walk beside Serana. He looked the woman up and down before speaking.

"Hey. I don't care if you're a vampire. I still like you." He smiled and she gave him an awkward smile in return. "But do me a favor. Don't use that lightning stuff on me again. I'm pretty sure I lost part of my eyebrows.."

Serana laughed at his comment, but Caterina remained stone faced. That's when Vilkas realized that he and the hunter would probably never get along, for so long as the both of them were living and breathing, they'd be at each others throats. Somehow, the thought made his heart ache.

Stupid girl.


	4. Necromancy and Healing

Caterina glared ahead of her at Serana talking with Farkas. Vilkas walked slightly ahead of them, his posture stiff and and defensive. She noticed the fresh blood staining his armor a dark shade of red and that's when she recalled swinging her axe at him. She swallowed hard and for a mere second, she had a small feeling of regret and sympathy before remembering why she struck at him in the first place.

Still. He never raised a hand to her or Serana. Strange considering his condition. Why did he hold back? Why did Farkas hold back? Perhaps they were more powerful werewolves that could control their beast blood, quite like Serana and her advanced vampire abilities. Though if that were the case, it was a damn shame since they murdered innocent people on their own accord and with a clear mind.

Or at least that's what she assumed. They hadn't heard of any attacks, but.. no! They had to have attacked people, right? They're werewolves. It's what they do.

Just like what vampires do.

Her mind was nagging at her. She looked to Serana and frowned. Serana was a different sort of vampire. She was kind, considerate, and not at all the murderer people assumed she was. Sure she fed on the living, but only took what she needed to sate her hunger. She didn't need to kill to feed, unlike most vampires who kill for the sport of it. Maybe Farkas and Vilkas were not so different. Werewolves didn't need to kill to sate their appetite. A bit of meat, raw or otherwise, would probably take care of it.

She groaned inwardly. Maybe she was thinking too hard on the subject. She needed a clear mind in this place - not so she would receive an honorable review from dear Vilkas - but because she didn't want a draugr or a member of the Silver Hand to shoot her in the head thinking she was a werewolf. Because with the way her hair looked today, she could very well pass for one with her "mane" flying in every which direction. She had so much static cling that it was pathetic, something Serana often mentioned. She always blamed Serana, for whenever she used her lightning magic, it made her hair, quite literally; stand on ends.

"Do you think we're getting close?" Serana asked to no one in particular.

"Possibly. Lots of dead draugr around, so watch what you're doing." Farkas responded, little to no emotion in his voice indicating annoyance, fear, etc. Farkas surprised the breton sometimes. It was almost as if he was solar powered.

"You haven't spoken much recently. If there's something you want to say, say it now." Vilkas looked back at the hunter, clutching his arm momentarily. "I'm all ears."

Caterina looked taken aback, not quite sure what to say. She knew she should apologize, but her ego must have been too big, for she kept her mouth shut for a few more moments before speaking.

"I know a few healing spells. I'm not that great at them, but I can see what I can do if you want me to look at your arm." His grey eyes bore into her own blue, which first appeared to be surprised, but quickly switched to disgust.

"Keep your magic away from me."

"Don't be so ungrateful. At least I offered to help!"

"You told me yourself that you don't fancy magic abilities!"

"I don't like to use them. Doesn't mean I don't know how. I'm a breton! What did you expect?" She snapped back, her hands balled up at her side, face presented. Great way to argue with someone who had a greatsword strapped to their back.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Serana rubbed her temples and sighed deeply. She understood why Caterina had this hatred towards the werewolves. Isran was depending on her to do her job this time more effectively, and even though Caterina wouldn't admit it, Isran was like a father-figure to her. Someone she didn't want to disappoint a second time.

Serana knew that she, too, should have a different attitude towards both Farkas and Vilkas and whomever else they'd ran into back at Jorrvaskr. She should be more on edge; more aware of her surroundings. She frequently thought back at that incident that happened so long ago. It kept her reminded of why she shouldn't befriend werewolves, nor trust them. She trusted one so long ago and look at where it got her. Tormented and fearful of the beasts.

But Farkas had brought something out in the beast that made her re-evaluate her opinions on the werewolves. They weren't any different from vampires, really. A lot more stinky, but somehow the smell wasn't as bad as she originally thought. She did catch herself covering her nose a lot during her time with the wolves, something Farkas kept questioning her about. She didn't really want to flat out tell him that her vampire senses told her that he stunk, so she casually ignored his remarks on it.

Vilkas on the other hand didn't seem to have anything against her. Caterina - oh, Talos. Where did Caterina go wrong? She knew Caterina wasn't the best at making friends and when she did make friends, she found she couldn't really keep them. That was evident by the way Isran and a couple others back at the Dawnguard treated her when Serana showed up at their front door asking for the friendly breton.

She understood her hatred of the wolves, but she also understood Vilkas' annoyance with her at keeping her emotions, thoughts, and history to herself. Caterina never gave herself much credit, but she had a good, strong stance and an even stronger and kind heart. She only wished Vilkas could see that side of her.

"What's that?" Farkas unsheathed his greatsword and scouted ahead, Vilkas not far behind. Caterina was interrupted in mid-sentence with her still harping at the nordic man, who appeared sick of her attitude. She followed close behind, Bran more intent on finding bones left from the long-deceased draugr in the tombs than to follow them.

"Come on, Bran." Serana patted her thigh to get the dog's attention. He perked up and followed her, an entire draugr arm sticking out of his mouth, the bones dragging along the ground creating an echo in the vast room. Serana heard a loud screeching noise and became quite aware that she was alone in this room, but not really alone.

She glanced behind her at an undead draugr raising itself up from the wall tomb he was secured in. It reached its rotten flesh arm towards her, apparently unarmed. Hah! Too easy. If it had been armed, she'd be in for a bigger fight, but it was pretty pathetic considering.

She concentrated for a moment before shooting several ice spikes into her target, it falling back into it's tomb with a soft thud. She was about to go catch up to the others, but something made her stop. She hadn't done necromancy for awhile and it did prove to be quite useful when in caves and tombs, for you never knew what you were going to find around the next corner.

A burst of purple light gathered around the draugr and it began moving once more, only under her control. Satisfied with her newly made minion, she ran to catch up to the werewolf brothers and her friend.

Only it didn't turn out to be quite the way she expected it to go. Caterina was fighting off a group of Silver Hand members, her axes flying in every which direction as she sliced through multiple arms and necks. Farkas had pinned a couple men in the corner who clearly didn't stand a chance while Vilkas was fighting off a draugr who appeared to be stronger than the others.. a warlord. Clearly, they were in need of help. Caterina looked over and seen Serana in the doorway.

"Serana! Pick a bunch and help out, would you?" Caterina yelled from across the room, the Silver Hand member she'd been fighting falling down with his last dying breath as she embedded the axe in his stomach. Serana rushed forward, sending her draugr to assist Farkas as she aided Caterina in fighting off the last of the Silver Hand members in the room.

Once they were dead, Caterina put her axes back at her side and lifted up her bow to aim it at the head of the draugr warlord Vilkas was currently dueling against, the arrow hitting her target spot on and exploded in a bright light from the effect of the sunhallowed arrows, the draugr falling back to his dead state! Serana would have been proud of her had the arrow not ricocheted off the helmet of the draugr and embed itself into the wound she'd already given to Vilkas, him groaning in pain as the arrow wedged deep into his arm.

Vilkas raised his brows, and even Serana had to admit she was surprised, when Caterina ran forward, dropping Auriel's Bow onto the ground to see to Vilkas.

"I'm so, so, so sorry. I didn't know it would do that. I didn't mean to." She flailed her hands as she spoke as if she didn't know if it was okay to pull the arrow out or not. "I hope this isn't going to count against me. I promise I can fight. I can. I really can. I-"

"Do you ever shut up? This isn't a big deal." Despite being shot with an arrow, he was actually grinning.

"What do you mean? Of course it is. I didn't mean to hurt you. I've done that twice today." She paused and regained her composure. "Not that I really care. You were an asshole to me."

"Then why are you trying to help me?" He questioned and she gave him a sideways glance.

"Because I can't kill you yet." She glanced over at Serana. "If I were to kill you without knowing whether or not you were a vile creature, I'm quite sure I'd be bat food."

"You do look delicious." Serana spoke up as she crossed her arms. "But I'm not really into junk food."

"Funny."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Vilkas didn't think his day could get any worse until that idiotic girl shot him with her arrow. The pain was excruciating, but paled in comparison to his rough transformations he experienced. The girl was going to be the death of him with her constantly changing her mind. She went from kind and considerate to downright vile and then turned around and began to quite literally panic over the fact that she'd hurt him.

She reached for his arm and he pulled back, but it didn't stop her from hitting his chest with so much force that he stumbled, a look in her eyes that meant business. She huffed after and pulled his arm towards her, gently ripping out the arrow and tossing it onto the ground. He groaned at the sensation, but felt immensely better.

"Now if you just hold still, I'll just-" She began to cast some sort of spell and he pulled back.

"I told you to keep your magic away from me."

"Well what do you want me to do?"

"I don't want you to do anything. I can bandage it myself."

"I'll do it!"

"Why do you want to help me so bad?"

"Because I'm a nice person, damn it! Now come here before I rip the arm off!"

Vilkas glared at the woman, but didn't pull his arm back this time around. She began looking through her bag and Vilkas took the time to look over at his brother. Farkas appeared to be at a loss for words as he looked at a draugr that didn't appear to have any desire to attack. He kept poking at its flesh and scratching the side of his head as if he'd never seen such a sight before. A draugr that didn't attack? Hah. The draugr fell backwards and let out a soft groan, a purple haze lifting itself from its body.

Vilkas widened his eyes as he realized what exactly the draugr was. He looked to Serana, who was quite amused by Farkas' reaction, and his pained expression turned sour. A necromancer vampire to top it all off? Disgusting. Noticing a bright light, he quickly pulled his arm out of the bretons gentle hold.

"I told you I didn't want that magic near me!" He rubbed at his arm to try to get any remnant of magic off. "Are you dimwitted?"

"Are you dimwitted? Because I'm pretty sure I just healed you." She bent over to pick up her bow. "You're welcome."

Farkas walked over to his brother, a look of confusion on his face.

"Did you see that draugr?" Vilkas just shook his head.

"You both have an interesting choice of combat. One of you a bit more clumsy than the other." Caterina began inspecting her bow, her interest in him leaving. Thank Talos for that.

"Hey. Theres the fragments." Farkas reached the stone table in the middle of the room and scooped the fragments into his hand. "Who wants to take them? I'll lose them for sure."

"I'll take them." Serana reached her hand out, gathering them up and storing them in her satchel.

"Oh. What is this?" Caterina was looking at a wall that was filled with various different words. Vilkas' previous anger was still present, but seeing as how his injury was almost fully healed, he wasn't as aggravated. He wouldn't let the breton know that, though. She had a big enough head already.

"Ah. That's a word wall. Many of them are dotted across Skyrim."

"This stone commemorates.. child king Jafnhar who was burned alive by.. fire of great dragon Lodunost." Caterina read from the wall. "Huh. Unusual names, even by Nord standards."

"H-how did you read that?"

"What do you mean how did you read that?"

"It's the dragon language. Not many can read such a language."

"Maybe I'm just smarter than you are." She laughed nervously before piping back up. "It's just something I've always done. I rearrange words until they look like an actual sentence I can read. Just something that came to mind."

"That sounds.. very much accurate though." Even Serana appeared concerned.

"Why is it so concerning? It's not like I'm a dragon or anything, if that's what you're worried about. Not that you'd need to be wary of me." She laughed nervously, but he could tell something was bothering her by the look on her face.

"Let's just go, alright?" Serana spoke up, looking over at her friend.

They heard a crunching noise and looked back to Bran who had ripped the leg off the recently reanimated draugr.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Ever since Caterina came to Skyrim, she'd felt out of place. Her home was Cyrodiil, namely the Imperial City. Isran found her wandering around near Falkreath near the middle of the night looking for alchemy ingredients, almost mistaking her as a vampire. The reaction Isran got was quite the sight. Caterina had been blown away by the concept of a crossbow, immediately hounding him for questions. That was the day she'd been invited to join the Dawnguard. It honestly was only but a year ago, but it felt like she'd known those people for a century.

Still, she felt incredibly out of place. But then she heard rumors of dragons and her mind felt completely detached from her body. It was strange. She wanted to know more about these dragons, which would not be unusual for someone who enjoyed knowledge as much as her, but it grew to something of an obsession. Now she was reading the dragon language? The thought concerned her. She hadn't even known it was a dragon language she was reading, as at the time it looked exactly like her common tongue.

She shivered as they entered Whiterun, her stomach growling something fierce.

"I'm so hungry and cold." She knew she was complaining and it probably wouldn't help her chances with the Companions. Deep in her heart, she truly wanted to be apart of that legendary group. She'd read stories about them when she was younger. Originally she had every intention of joining the Fighters Guild back in Cyrodiil, but her heart told her to go to Skyrim. Sometimes she wondered if she made the right choice joining the Dawnguard.

"Maybe we can go to the inn and get a bite to eat before we go back." Vilkas said. "What do you say?"

"I say yes." Again, something her and Vilkas agreed on. Remarkable.

She sneezed.

Serana reached out and placed her hand over her nose. Caterina went cross-eyed as she tried to look at the hand on her nose. She cleared her throat.

"Uhm. What are you doing?"

"N-nothing." She quickly removed her hand, but caught Farkas smiling softly at the vampire near his side.

"Alright then." She said, rubbing at her nose where Serana had recently touched. "Let's get some grub."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Immediately upon entering the Bannered Mare, Vilkas grabbed a hold of Caterina's arm, tugging her towards the empty, dark section of the inn. He waved Farkas and Serana off, saying he needed to speak to the hunter. She grimaced, but did not protest.

He sat on one side of the round table and she took her spot on the other. A redguard woman approached before Vilkas had the chance to say a single word. They both ordered a mead, some baked potatoes, and steamed mud crab legs then waited for the woman to leave before communicating. And for good reason.

"So you were sent to kill us, were you?" Vilkas asked.

"Yes." The woman pulled out one of her axes and set it casually on the table. He raised an eyebrow. "The hilt was stabbing me in the side." She shrugged her shoulders.

"You're an unusual one, that's for sure."

"Unusual in what way?" She furrowed her brows.

"Heh." He murmured to himself. "Nothing, nothing."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

She sneezed again and rubbed her nose. That was one thing that he was actually thankful for. The beast blood didn't allow him to obtain diseases or illnesses.

"Tell me everything."

"Everything?" She furrowed her brows. "I don't understand why you think I'd ev-"

"I need to trust you. If I can't trust you, I won't allow you back in Jorrvaskr."

The breton gave him a sly face, as if she dared him to challenge her, but the face turned into a wonky, adorable expression when she wrinkled her nose and sneezed again.

But adorable? He must have been drunk on the smell of mead. Speaking of which, the redguard woman returned with two large mugs of mead and set them both in front of the two Companions. Serana kept glancing back at the table with concern in her eyes while Farkas chugged down his first mead. Typical Farkas.

"Why aren't you having this conversation with Serana instead? She's the one you should naturally worry about, no?"

"Serana didn't threaten us." He responded.

"She shot lightning at your brother and shot him back at least ten feet."

He shrugged. "And you cut me with that damn axe of yours and then turned around and shot me with an arrow."

"The arrow thing wasn't intentional," She took a sip of her mead before eyeballing him. "And you know it."

"It's still hard to trust someone with that aim."

"My aim was fine. It would have been fine if you hadn't been there. He exploded anyway."

"Speaking of exploding, what exactly are those arrows you're using?" He pointed to the quiver on her back. "I've never seen anything with that sort of affect."

"Ah. These are Sunhallowed Arrows," She brought one out of the quiver and held it out to him, which he took and began inspecting. "When you fire at enemies, it brings the literal sunlight into the area."

"Ah. Vampire hunter." He smirked and handed her back the arrow. "I'd almost forgotten."

"How could you forget?" She remarked. "I'm very memorable."

"Indeed."

"Hmph." She took another sip of her mead. "So speaking of your injury, how is it holding up?"

"Is that," Vilkas looked the breton up and down. "Concern I'm hearing?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Kind of, yes." He shoved his grey plate to the side to give her a glimpse of the wound, which was no bigger than a scratch at this point in time. The magic did help, but he still didn't trust magic; no matter the cost. She reached out to touch the flesh.

"It's still not perfect." She unconsciously ran her fingers over the wound. "My magic is atrocious. I'd have been kicked out the mages guild for sure." She mumbled.

"You're right, you know." He cleared his throat. "Your magic is atrocious. So don't use it on me again."

She gave him a glare before pushing his arm away, her hands reaching for her mead to take another sip. Thankfully the awkwardness of the moment was broken when the woman came and set one large plate of mud crab legs and potatoes in the middle of the table. Vilkas gave the woman a curious glance and she blushed.

"Is there a problem?"

"I had assumed there would be two plates, seeing as how there are two people at this table." He remarked.

"Oh, forgive me." She cleared her throat and straightened her back. "I assumed you were a couple. Typically couples share one of our larger plates when they come in for a meal."

Typical. A man and woman can't travel alone in Skyrim without one spreading rumors and assuming they were together. He smirked as he remembered the day Farkas helped an elderly woman in the Plains District of Whiterun get her cat that had somehow gotten stuck on her roof. The woman insisted that he join her for lunch that day as part of his payment and the rumors that surrounded Farkas afterwords were bold enough to make even Aela and Skjor blush. Amusing, but sometimes annoying. Like now, as he looked over at the shorter woman across the table from him, who seemed overwhelmed at the plate of food before them.

"Isn't that inconvenient, though?" Caterina piped up, looking up at the redguard. "I'd be pretty mad if someone ate all the good bits of food and left me the crummy ones, significant other or not."

"Would you like me to get another plate so you don't have to share?" She seemed very apologetic. Thankfully she realized her mistake. Vilkas would have said yes to her question, but the hunter seemed to have everything under her control.

"We won't be needing another plate." She remarked, looking over at the werewolf. "He'll be buying it anyway, right dear?"

"I hate you." He grumbled as he pulled the plate closer to his side of the table. He immediately dug into the meat as Caterina gave him a death glare and reached to pull the plate a bit closer back towards her. The redguard awkwardly nodded and left the two to their quarrel.

"No you don't. If you really did hate me, you'd have had no issues with biting my head off." She reached out for a crab leg. "Or try to, anyway."

"You never did tell me everything." He commented as she huffed in response.

"Serana already told you. Her father was ready to start a war with humanity, starting with the blood of his daughter. I came in and killed him along with Serana. Oh, and Bran, too." She looked around, as if searching for something. "Where is that dog anyway?"

"I think your dog has a new best friend." He gestured towards Farkas, who was currently sitting beside the fire with the large dog on his lap, Serana sitting on the bench talking in a calm, but amused tone. Caterina looked relieved.

"What's so important about that dog anyway?"

"He was the first friendly face I seen when I came to Skyrim." She responded. "He didn't judge me like the rest of Skyrim did." She turned to look at the companion. "Do you realize how hard it is to not be a nord in Skyrim? It's.. miserable."

"I've heard, but I haven't experienced it firsthand for obvious reasons." He remarked, feeling truly concerned about that topic for the first time. "The Companions don't judge anyone for their race."

"Still. Dogs understand me better than people." She gave him a sideways glance and smiled. "Maybe not the ones that stand on two legs, though."

"You'd be surprised. Maybe you just need to get to know one." He cleared his throat. "A nice, decent and respectable one, of course."

"Well then I'm out of luck. I haven't seen one of those in awhile." She grinned for the first time since being around him before taking another bite of the crab leg. It was almost as if the event in Dustman's Cairn never happened.

"So you don't judge anyone on their race?" She questioned.

"Is it hard to believe?" He asked.

"Kind of, yes." She shrugged her shoulders. "I haven't met many decent nords."

"We judge people on their arm." He looked to hers as he spoke, her eyes following his. She scoffed.

"Teach me, then."

"What?" He was taken slightly aback.

"Teach me," She pointed to the greatsword attached to his back. "How to fight with one of those."

"My greatsword? You?" The idea was laughable. His greatsword was close to being her exact height. It would be a sight to see, that's for sure.

"Yes. It'll be our deal. I won't kill you in your sleep if you teach me how to use it." Vilkas smiled at the breton. "Unless you prove to me you're a vicious murderer."

"So even though you were ordered to kill me, you won't do it unless you have a reason to?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" She tensed up.

"No. It's just that it's very.. honorable." He rested his elbow on the table, leaning forward slightly. "The Silver Hand doesn't have people like you. I'm beginning to respect this Dawnguard."

"The Dawnguard doesn't have people like me." She looked over at Serana, as if her memories just now came flooding back to her. "I'm almost a joke to them. Sure I killed Harkon, but I refused to kill his daughter."

She reached out for a crab leg, but came back empty handed, her eyes roaming over him suddenly.

"... bastard. See all this talking with my mouth open?" She stabbed her fork into a bit of potato. "It could be used to eat this delicious food. But you keep asking me questions and pestering me so you can eat all the food." She stuffed the bit of potato in her maw.

"Why don't you talk and eat at the same time?"

"That's so disrespectful, don't you think?" She looked taken aback.

"Damn bretons and their table manners." He shook his head as he took the last bite of the remaining crab leg. Her attitude towards small, simple things was humorous, though. She wouldn't chug her mead, she wouldn't put her elbows on the table, she wouldn't speak with her mouth open, but at the same time she had a fowl mouth. She fascinated him. One question kept inching its way forward in the back of his mind, though.

"Have you actually ever killed a werewolf?"

She swallowed her mouthful of potatoes and set her fork back down on the table, as if she really had to prepare herself to answer the question. She looked at him sheepishly.

"No. I've only killed vampires." She shrugged her shoulders. "I wanted to make you fear me more than you did. I assumed that was the only way to get to you."

He breathed a sigh of relief. For reasons unknown, it put his mind at ease. She kept smiling.

"So it did work, didn't it?" She paused. "Of course it wasn't a full lie. Serana had killed werewolves in the past."

"So you're like a puppy." He remarked, smirking.

"A puppy?" She tilted her head. "How so?"

"You've never killed a werewolf. You follow that vampire around like a lost puppy. She's like a bodyguard."

"Hey. I saved her butt on several occasions." She accused. "You wouldn't believe the trouble she gets herself into."

"Alright, alright." He put his hands in the air with defeat. "I'll trust you on it."

He watched as she ate the last bit of potato, sighing as he felt an ache shoot across his very being. It was only a few hours away from the full moon, the nights where he did everything in his power to not turn. If he allowed himself to be controlled by his blessing then it would soon turn into an even worse curse. Letting the beast blood control you was one step closer to being the beast he dreaded. Caterina perked up as she recognized his position had pain to blame.

"Hey. You okay?" She paused and set down her fork. "I can try to heal you again if you want."

"No!" He practically yelled. He then shook his head and lowered his voice. "I'm fine. Just hurry up so we can get out of here."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

"Are you sure you don't need any blood? I can go find some. I'm sure they have some raw meat in the back that's still fresh and filled with it."

Serana tensed up, happy there was nobody else sitting in that area of the inn. Farkas wasn't subtle about her vampirism, which didn't really surprise her seeing as how he transformed right in front of the both of them at Dustman's Cairn. Apparently it was a secret that he just couldn't keep bottled up; not even for the first quest. It was very considerate of him looking out for her and being concerned, but every time he mentioned blood or vampires, she frantically looked around and tensed up.

"Like I said, I'm fine." She swat away a non-existent spec off her shoulder. "How about we just not bring that up anymore?"

"If you say so, vamps."

"Farkas. Please call me Serana." The nickname was meant to be friendly, she knew. But it was inappropriate for all obvious reasons.

"Can I call you Sera?"

"How about you try Serana?"

"It'll do." He stood up, lifting the large husky up with him, and sat down beside her on the bench, the dog making himself comfortable on his lap.

Serana looked back at the duo behind them in the corner and pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if they were getting along since she was getting many mixed signals from their table. Either way, she had a feeling they should be heading back soon. Caterina waved lazily as she finished off the last of the potato on the plate.

"Well. I see no reason to stay." She tugged on the arm of the nord, easing him up and causing Bran to jump down. "Let's get going. I'm anxious to go to sleep." More like anxious to talk with Caterina, She thought.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

It was dusk by the time they got back to Jorrvaskr. Aela was waiting at the top of the steps for their return. It would have been most unusual to see her waiting their arrival, but being a beast meant having a very enhanced nose when it came to smelling other beasts.

"Shield-siblings. Welcome back." She nodded her head. "Follow Farkas to the training yard. The rest are waiting."

"Alright. Come on, you two" He gestured as both Caterina and Serana followed without question. Aela placed a hand on Vilkas' chest to stop him from following. He noticed Caterina glancing back at the two as if she knew what was about to take place.

"Shield-brother. Did you notice anything strange with those two during your journey?"

Vilkas tensed up. He should have known Aela would have known about them. Or at least one of them. Aela got set up with vampire missions all the time and for good reasons. She was ranged, for the most part. It's dangerous to fight vampires up-close and personal, that he knew. So why wouldn't she, of all people, know about Serana being a vampire?

He should, by all means, tell Aela. She was a long-time friend and was almost like and elder sister to him and Farkas growing up. He trusted her with his life, but he didn't know if he trusted her around Serana or Caterina either for that matter. Caterina and Serana he had just met not long ago. He hadn't even known them a week. Why would he keep their secret?

He had no idea.

"No. They're formidable fighters. Good to have them join the Companions." Aela didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but didn't press the subject. He took notice how alike Aela and Caterina were. He was sure, if given the chance, they'd be great allies. Unfortunately, he didn't see that happening anytime too soon.

He shook his head and made his way towards the ceremony. Serana and Caterina were both to be formally accepted into the Companions on this evening. He had only hoped he did the right thing in keeping their identities a secret. May Talos not condemn him to Oblivion for his stupidity.


	5. Friend or Foe?

Serana danced around merrily, her dress that had been intended to pool around her feet had been fluttering up in the air for the majority of the day as she twirled around, the bards amused at her energy as they continued to sing and play their instruments.

It was near the evening of the day of the summer festival and everyone in the quiet little village became quite lively. Shopkeepers were selling many varieties of mountain flowers, traveling merchants were currently set up in the center of the village with many types of exotic fruits and trinkets for purchase, and bards roamed the village singing tunes and causing people to dance and be merry on such a fine day.

Without a doubt it was Serana's favorite time of the year. She hated the bitter cold winters Skyrim faced every year, so she'd take any kind of warmer weather in an instant. The Nord also knew that it would continue to be her favorite time of the year once she met him. He was a noble from a distant village. He, quite literally, swept her off her feet. She'd been in her own little world as she danced when suddenly she felt a strong pair of arms lift her up and twirl her around. At first she thought it had been her father coming down from their vast castle to join in the festivities, but she should have known better, for her father had turned into quite the hermit.

Instead, she was met with a handsome Nordic man, perhaps a few years older than she. He had a smile that made her heart feel like the gelatin substance that she'd eaten at the exotic food stand earlier. He told her his name was Vanilkan from a distant land full of beautiful flowers and the most precious of stones, his family the wealthiest household there.

She ended up spending the rest of the evening with him. From that day and onward, a beautiful relationship bloomed. Her father approved of her new suitor, but her mother remained wary. It was quite unusual, seeing as how her mother was the one who harped on her over and over again to try and find a suitor, so to have her flat-out show rejection towards the man she had given her heart to was rather out of her character.

Unfortunately for her, she'd find out why her mother had this distrustfulness towards Vanilkan.

The day her life ended was the day she had realized that she'd fallen head-over-heels in obsessive love with this man. She'd turned twenty-one that morning and her parents threw the most magnificent of balls. Many friends from many different villages came to join in on the celebration.

Her mother, Valerica, had spoken fondly of her choosing a suitor for marriage this day; ignoring Vanilkan whom had just walked through the entrance. As tradition goes, most Nords marry young, normally around their sixteenth of seventeenth year. Serana found it utterly shocking when her mother told her that some girls plan their marriage at fourteen and end up getting married at the young age of fifteen. Valerica knew her daughter was a free spirit and had avoided making her choose someone so soon in her life and had convinced Harkon to let her choose on the day she reached twenty-one years.

The choice was obvious. Or at least to Serana. Her mother, however, freely spoke of how she did not approve. Serana knew she never approved, but to have her finally say it on the day she was meant to choose was beyond hurtful.

The party continued, despite Serana's absence, having sneaked to find her beloved whom had disappeared once night had fallen.

It was strange. Vanilkan loved nights, so why tonight of all nights did he decide to leave? And without a word to her? Serana fumed as her mind drifted to the idea that her mother may have spoken to him.

Serana had bundled up, for the nights were quite chilly in Skyrim. She rubbed her nose as the cold air nipped at the pointed tip. Her eyes drifted up towards the bright, full moons. Normally nights as bright as this calmed her, but for reasons unknown, she found it to be eerie to have such light radiating from such large objects. Secunda and Masser had never been more discomforting.

Despite her rush to find her dear Vanilkan, she found herself moving at a relatively slow pace. When she asked a few villagers if they'd seen him, they responded that they last seen him traveling down the wooded path leading to the forest.

Something was not right. Serana could feel it within her frozen bones.

When she found him, it was not the fairy tale ending she had hoped for and expected. He was hunched over beside an ancient pine, his nails making deep clawmarks deep within the trunk. She started to approach him, but froze in her tracks when she seen what exactly he was hunched over. The body of what she assumed used to be a bosmer lay before him, scarred and ripped to almost no recognition. Her pulse quickened when Vanilkan turned to face her, his mouth smeared with the fresh blood of the aforementioned wood elf. His eyes were not one of compassion as they were mere hours ago. Instead they were a bright yellow that held a feral look.

Within moments, his skin changed from his former pale tone to a dirty brown; fur protruding from his flesh. His nose became elongated and a growl escaped his maw. Soon he was standing in front of the nord, her Vanilkan. A snarling beast.

A werewolf.

She took one step back and that was all it took. He leaped towards her, barely missing her as Serana took off deeper into the woods. She cried out as his claws sunk into her cloak, ripping it from her neck. Thankfully it distracted the beast and she got even further away as he helplessly tore through the fabric of the hood and cloak that once shielded her from the cold.

Would it have been smart to head towards the village? Most likely, but Serana would feel awful sending the beast into the village. What if he harmed, or even worse, killed those innocent people? Serana shuddered and continued running deeper into the woods, where the light of the moon could not penetrate through the dense branches of the pines.

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath, her body secured against a tree as she glanced behind her for any glimpse at all of the werewolf. She was relieved to not see him, but his howl in the distance made her tense up. She cursed at herself for not equipping her dagger, but the heated argument she had with her mother before leaving made any logic at all escape her.

But she could not run forever. She would have to fight.

She searched the forest floor until she found a stick, just sharp enough to harm the beast. As much as she didn't want to harm Vanilkin, she knew she had no choice in the matter. She clenched her hand tightly around the stick and held her ground as she heard him rustling through the bushes and stepping over branches from the few decaying trees. She turned just in time to see him leaping at her at a high speed, her instinct telling her to slash at the beast with the stick, successfully cutting at the flesh of his stomach. He bled, but not much. In fact, it seemed to only make the beast angrier.

Serana was no stranger when it came to fighting, for her father taught her everything he knew from a young age. But when it came to a woman fighting off a werewolf with nothing but a stick, chances of success were not favorable, nor on her side.

It was unexpected when the wolf pinned her down and onto the forest floor, her stick thrown off to the side. She clenched her eyes tightly, her fear of death making her act cowardly, for if she were to die, she did not want to die facing her killer.

However, as she laid there waiting for that killing blow, it never came. At this point, her curiosity got the better of her as her eyes fluttered open to see the werewolf staring down at her, not as if she were something to eat, but as if he were deciding if she were more important to him then to simply be a midnight snack. Then his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, had shown themselves. He was her beloved once more. His form remained that of a wolf, but his hesitation and the changing color of his hues reminded her that he was still her Vanilkan.

"V-vanilkan..?" Those were the last words she spoke to him. She heard a rustle in the distance and his once blue eyes became feral once more, it all happening so fast that Serana wondered if she'd imagined it.

An arrow came out of nowhere and struck him right in the chest, the werewolf crying out in pain as he leaped off her. Just as she thought he was going to run away in fear, he charged at her once more as if he thought she was the one who shot the arrow. Before he got close, another arrow appeared out of nowhere, but this time it went straight through his heart.

Time stood still for Serana as the wolf landed to the ground with a thud, his body letting one last whimper escape. His pale skin replaced fur and once again he was her Vanilkan and not a beast. Serana let out a choked up sob, but couldn't find herself to go near him. Instead she pathetically remained on the cold, hard forest floor scooting her body away from his.

Warm, familiar arms found their way around her shoulders as she was helped up. She turned to find her mother, a bow slung over her shoulder, tears staining her mothers perfect porcelain face. In a moment of relief, she slung her arms around her mother and let her own tears cascade down her cheeks.

Serana and Valerica traveled home that night and she had explained everything to Serana. Her suspicions and why she continued to dwell on them until she was sure he was indeed a beast. Her mother hadn't wanted to betray her daughters trust and announce what she suspected him of being before she, herself, were positively correct. So when she rushed out into the cold, Valerica had followed. Serana realized that day that her mother cared far more for her than she had been led to believe, even risking her own life to follow her into the woods.

When Serana mentioned the last look Vanilkan had given her, her mother shook her head.

"They are nothing more than beasts." She had said.

Nothing more than beasts. Nothing more than beasts, but there was so much sorrow, regret, and even love in his eyes.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

"Hello?" Serana shook her head as she woke up from her daydream, Caterina waving her hand in front of her face. "Would you please pass the gravy before my potatoes get cold?"

Jorrvaskr was bustling with chatting and the sound of dishes clinking together, all members of the Companions gathered around the table for their evening meal. Serana realized that she must have been in deep thought for longer than she originally realized. She looked to her breton friend and shook her head slightly before reaching for the bowl she had requested.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just," She glanced over to Farkas who was sitting to the left of her. "... thinking."

"Thinking, hm?" Caterina took the bowl of gravy from Serana. "You were in your own world."

Caterina began to drown her potatoes in gravy which gave Serana a bit more time to recollect all the events that had happened in her short twenty-one years of her life. Literal life, for her family decided to dwell in unholy matters after that event. She fell in love with a werewolf who had no control over his beast side. Then her parents turn to Molag Bal for more guidance, hence the vampirism. The entire process was degrading, but Serana wouldn't dare take it back. She'd feel too exposed without her fangs.

Serana didn't have a plate in front of her, for she was in no mood to eat. She'd go out hunting later anyway which was much more satisfying than food that the living typically ate. She rested her elbow on the table, her head tilting to look at Farkas. Werewolves were bad. Werewolves were something she'd never had an issue with killing after Vanilkan. But were all of them bad?

Nothing more than beasts. Her mother's words always rang through her head whenever she looked at Farkas. Hell, any of them in this hall for that matter.

Yet Serana couldn't help the fluttering feeling inside her stomach whenever she was around the big brute. Farkas didn't seem like the type of person to hurt a fly. He seemed too sweet to be a werewolf. Then again, she seen his strength and how he flung that Silver Hand member clear across the room. But on the positive side, she'd probably be dead if Farkas hadn't been there. Sure she could take on a few people by herself, but eleven or twelve? That would have been a slight challenge that could have put both her and Caterina in danger. Not even Bran would have been able to take on so many.

She sighed as she broke out of her thoughts, the sound making Farkas look to the vampire with a curiosity. If she were still alive, her cheeks would have surely been bright red as she realized that the reason he began staring at her was because he noticed that she was, in fact, staring at him. She quickly averted her gaze, jumping slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Caterina placed her fork down as she looked at the vampire with genuine concern. "You seem.. really out of it."

"I'm okay." Serana smiled. "Really! I am!" Her fake enthusiasm was probably over the top, for the breton couldn't help but chuckle and reach for another potato. Sometimes Serana wondered where she put it all.

"Sure you don't want any food?"

"We just ate a few hours ago at the inn." She gave her a sideways look. "Did you forget?"

"Well I'm hungry again." She grinned. "I'll eat for the both of us, then."

"You're a bottomless pit." Serana shook her head in disbelief and watched as she stuffed another bite of potato into her maw.

"Maybe I am."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

It had been just an hour since the ceremony had taken place. Serana and Caterina were now full members of the Companions, thanks to him and Vilkas. The ceremony only took about fifteen minutes, which was probably a good thing. Farkas didn't know if he could stand in one place for so long while he listened to Kodlak giving an even longer speech. He loved the old man, but he's quite sure he'd fall asleep listening to him for so long.

The dinner was fantastic after the ceremony. Tilma and the rest of the servants did good that evening. So many potatoes and mammoth steak. Farkas felt like he was going to explode with anticipation when he walked through the door and smelt the food. He and Caterina, he noted, wasted no time in sitting down and munching on the food. He'd have to make sure to get his share before that girl in the future. For being a breton, she sure could eat. If she wasn't an active woman, he was sure she'd be about as big as a horker. He chuckled at the thought.

After a few moments of eating, he took notice of Serana looking him straight in the face as he ate. He didn't mind it, but it made him feel bad. She didn't eat much at the Bannered Mare. What if she was hungry? Noticing his awareness, she quickly turned away. Farkas smiled fondly at the woman before turning to Vilkas, who sat on his left.

"So what do you think of the food?"

"Kind of bland, but I just got done eating potatoes and crab legs, so I can't really judge." Vilkas only had a sliver of potato and a small chunk of bread on his plate. He didn't appear to be too excited about the dinner or the ceremony. Instead, all his attention was on Aela and Skjor on the other side of the table; the two talking and looking occasionally at the vampire. Given the chance, he was sure both Skjor and Aela would like the two new members, but they didn't really talk much to them. It did strike him as unusual, but maybe it was just none of his business.

"Hellooooooooooooooo new faces." Athis leaned on the table in front of Caterina and Serana, the mug in his hand tilting so bad that its contents splashed every which way onto the table in front of the vampire, the latter of which was giving the man death glares.

"Oh. Someone has an attitude." He leaned forward, just a mere few inches away from Serana's face. "I like my women tall. I'd love to get to know you better."

"So sad for you that I prefer my men tall and not short." She remarked, a snarky smirk crossing her features.

"Oh, my poor aching heart." The dunmer stood and placed a hand on his heart as if an arrow had pierced him straight in the center. He almost fell over, but caught himself on the table. He hiccuped and took another swig of his mead. Torvar, Ria, and Njada laughed at the silly elf's antics while Vilkas just rolled his eyes and continued to munch on his bread.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." Caterina held out her hand from across the table, much to Athis' surprise. Instead of shaking it, he gave her hand a swift kiss. Caterina laughed and tugged her hand away from him and they began to form a conversation. What of? Farkas had no idea, for his attention was now on his brother who had curiously enough began looking in the direction of Athis and Caterina. It was strange that his brother hadn't paid anyone a single ounce of attention tonight, save for that exact moment.

Farkas smiled to himself. Perhaps Vilkas had a crush. Oh, wouldn't that be something. Vilkas falling for the vampire's sidekick; a vampire hunter no less. Farkas being Farkas had to ask.

"So when are you going to court her?" Farkas leaned forward to block his brothers view of the duo.

"What are you talking about?" He scowled, a look of annoyance on his face.

"You and Cat. You show signs of jealousy."

"I-I do not show any sort of signs of jealousy." Vilkas grumbled, his voice as low as he could get it. "Besides, Athis flirts with all the women in the Companions. It never does any good."

"So you admit you like her?"

"Farkas, we've only known each other for two days."

"Yeah?"

"You can't fall in love with someone in two days."

"How do you know if it's never happened to you?"

"Because I.. wait what?"

"Never mind."

"Farkas, just." Vilkas rubbed his temples. "Please don't bring that up ever again. If I wanted to court someone, I would. You'd know it first, trust me."

Vilkas tried to keep his voice down as much as he possibly could, but he got the feeling that Serana heard every word, for a smile appeared on her face that was much brighter than any smile he'd ever seen. It put him on edge, but it did confirm his suspicions when she leaned over him to whisper something that made him and his brother both crack a smile.

"I don't think she's into mutts."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Vilkas discarded his armor on the floor of his room, relieved to be rid of the heavy plate for the time being and settled into his tunic. He got ready to retire for the night when he heard a growl of pain. Kodlak. He knew the old man had been having problems lately, which was quite evident when he had went to his chambers without showing interest in his dinner. The pains you got even when you weren't transforming were unbelievably excruciating.

He yanked open the door and began his search for the old man. Fortunately he was seated at the small table right outside his chambers, but he was not alone. Caterina was looming over the seated Kodlak, all her focus on a particular spot on his shoulder. Thinking swiftly, he slid behind the nearest door-frame.

"Well you have a huge knot right here." She poked at a particular spot and he grunted slightly. "See? Now I suggest you go to see one of the priests tomorrow morning."

"I appreciate your concern, girl, but really. I'm fine. Just a cramp in the arm." He laughed merrily at the breton.

"Are you sure, Mr. Kodlak?"

"Kodlak is fine, dear." He stood and patted her on the head. "Mr. Kodlak makes me sounds old, eh?"

"I suppose." She grinned. "But it makes you sound more professional."

Vilkas made himself known when Kodlak returned to his room, standing in front of the doorway to the open area of the main chamber room. Caterina turned and clumsily ran into the tall nord.

"Oof." She backed up and cleared her throat as an attempt to erase her embarrassment. Or at least that's what Vilkas assumed. He smiled sleepily at the breton.

"You know, I don't understand how on Nirn you manage to live through the things you encounter." She looked at him and scoffed.

"Why do you never have anything nice to say to me?"

"Why do you never have anything nice to say to me?" He countered.

He was sure their nitpicking would have led to a full blown argument had he not doubled over in pain at that exact moment. He fell to his knees as an agonizing pain shot through his stomach, his beast trying so hard to escape. Her open mouth shut so hard that he swore he heard her teeth click together, her jaw snapping in place. He expected the girl to run past him to get her vampire friend or to simply leave him be, but she did something quite unexpected.

Bending down to rest her body on her knees, she gripped his shoulders with firm hands and assisted in tugging him up.

"L-look." She stuttered as she struggled to assist him. "I'm not having you change right here. Just stand up. Please."

"I'm not going to change, you stupid girl." He spat at her. In truth he didn't know how to react to someone physically touching him during that moment in time. He glared down at the girl when he stood back up, the pains dissolving upon her touch. She gave him an equally as menacing glare before pushing past him to make her way to her rest area.

No words were needed.

Vilkas found himself infuriated for showing that side of himself to her. Infuriated that she wanted to help him in her own unique way. Infuriated that, despite him being half beast, she had shown no fear in him. Infuriated that his heart skipped a couple beats during the time of her attempted assistance.

He heard a noise and glanced over to Kodlak's door, the old man leaning against the frame with a wide smile, arms crossed. Vilkas turned and walked back towards his chambers, no words uttered from either beings.

Damn that girl!


	6. Innuendos and Cheese

Vilkas was furious as he stormed back to his chambers, Farkas being quite taken aback when his fiery brother roughly shoved past him in an attempt to reach the door. The bigger nord wrapped his large arms around his neck and held him in a firm headlock.

"Farkas!" The hot-headed nord tried to shove him off, but to no avail. The look Farkas gave him was a look of sympathy, yet full of rage as well. "Let me go!" He struggled, the strength of his brother never ceasing to amaze him.

"I'll let go of you when you calm down, brother." Vilkas stopped his movements, but only slightly. It was enough for Farkas, so he slowly released his hold on his brother. Vilkas roughly shoved his brother back, his hands firmly on his chest, causing the nord to falter, catching himself on chair in front of both of their chambers. "W-watch it! What's gotten into you?"

Vilkas ignored the lecture that his brother would no doubt begin to spew and once he was in his room, slammed the door directly in his face. He hated this feeling.

This feeling of frustration.

This feeling of pain.

The feeling of attraction.

Damn the girl! He was fully attracted to her, throwing him into the stereotypical childish game of pulling pigtails. He did not hate her, not in the slightest. She fascinated him, almost to the fine point of obsession. And why? She was a nobody. A breton, on top of that! What did she know about warhammers and a good mead? Nothing! She was so incredibly short, the top of her head only reaching his chest. That wasn't a woman. That was a gremlin. A gremlin I could easily pick up to shove against the wall and...

"Damn it all!" Vilkas shouted, all thoughts leaving his head. He walked to his nightstand, pulling out two items; a moderate healing potion for his aches and big bottle of mead. If this didn't clear his head, he didn't know what would. Tilting his head back, he took a swig of the potion before drowning out the rest of his problems with the potent mead.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Caterina rubbed her eyes sleepily. Not even the smell of the delicious food in the dining hall could fully wake the sleep deprived breton. She hadn't got a wink of sleep until early morning after her little confrontation with Vilkas. She hadn't meant to get him angry, but perhaps he was already going through things she hadn't been aware of. Either way, she was fully offering to assist the werewolf. While she was not a beast herself, she had read various texts on them and knew that the pains were extreme, especially for those who didn't transform at will. Vilkas didn't seem the type to fully throw himself into a frenzied state. While he was an extreme hot-headed nord, he was also in his right mind. She hadn't thought of him to be the type to lose control. For reasons unknown to her, she felt and shadow of sadness seeping into her thoughts. She quickly shook her head to be rid of the foolish feeling.

Throwing all thoughts to the back of her mind, she stretched her arms up above her head and let out a silent, but large yawn. She had the feeling it was going to be a rather long, drawn-out day.

"Rough night?" The disheveled breton looked up from her sorry state to see Aela sit in the vacant seat directly across from her. She forced a smile.

"Y-you could say that," She mumbled before clearing her throat. "Is it always so loud in here?"

Aela laughed. The mead hall was swarming with companions, not that Caterina minded. She found it quite refreshing as opposed to the soft-spoken vampiric company she had grown accustomed to. Serana was fully against the rowdy behavior that warriors have had a tendency to display, instead preferring the calm, peaceful ways of life. Not all vampires were prone to blood shed, similar to how - as she most recently discovered - not all werewolves are prone to violence.

"Kodlak assigned me a job today," Aela spoke as she reached across the table to grab a tankard. "And I thought, maybe the newblood would like to tag along." She tilted her head back to consume the entire tankard of mead in a mere three swallows. The breton watched in amazement as she realized that she would never understand nords. Aela slammed the tankard back onto the table, a big grin plastered to her face. "If you're interested, that is."

Caterina hesitated. Aela was a werewolf. The breton wasn't stupid and she certainly didn't just fall off the turnip wagon. It would be incredibly dangerous if she were to travel alone with her. If it were with Farkas or - dare she even suggest it - Vilkas, it would have made her less uneasy, for they've already had many chances to attack them and chose not to. Caterina knew nothing about Aela, and she somehow was a bit untrusting of her.

But on the other hand, she was undercover. Now she truly felt that if the werewolf brothers wouldn't harm her, then surely the huntress wouldn't either. She didn't want to blow their cover; not when they were so close. But close to what, exactly? She didn't want to harm Farkas and Vilkas, but she was assigned to. Hell, that was her job. But how was that fair to them? To even Serana? The breton loved Isran like a father and she couldn't bear to disappoint him again.

Mustering up all the courage she could, she put on a big smile. "I'd enjoy that," She spoke, her words flowing out of her mouth in a more convincing manner than she had originally expected. "What do we need to do?"

"That's more like it," Aela stood up abruptly. "Big ol' bear. Outskirts of Riverwood. Apparently it's been breaking into houses, stealing food and such."

"A bear?" Caterina absentmindedly touched her neck, the deep gash bringing back memories. She smirked at the opportunity for revenge, whether it was the same bear or not.

"Yeah. So far it's been peaceful, only stealing food and such, but those people aren't as wealthy as most. They need that food before they get hit hard with the snow."

"So when are we leaving?" The breton beamed, speaking in a manner that was almost too enthusiastic. It had been awhile since she'd been out hunting. This would be the perfect time to hone her archery skills and perhaps even bring back some venison, given there may be a deer or two in their path. Her mouth watered at the thought.

"Right now, if you're up for it," She adjusted the bow on her back. "I'd like to be home for supper. I hear they're serving mammoth steak again tonight. Have you tried it?"

"Mammoth steak?" She wrinkled her nose. "I hear it's a tougher meat then most. I didn't try it during the ceremony. I prefer venison. Or rabbit."

"It's an acquired taste," The redhead shrugged, glancing at the breton with a certain curiosity. "You'll get used to it."

"Oh!" She exclaimed as if she had just remembered something crucial. "Let me run downstairs to get my bow. You gather some provisions for the road."

"Are you ordering me what to do, newblood?"

Caterina stopped dead in her tracks, turning back to look at the nordic woman, arms crossed as if she were about to scold a child. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth to explain - she was always used to giving commands to Serana that she had forgotten, in her haste to go bear hunting, that was was indeed not in charge. But before words came out, the huntress began laughing.

"I'm kidding." She smiled a bit at the tensed up breton, though she still didn't seem to be joking. "You should have seen the look on your face."

Caterina awkwardly laughed in response. Aela was slightly scary and unpredictable. Course, she wouldn't let her know that.

"So I'll go get my bow," She said slowly. "And you can get provisions if you want to?"

"Course. Go get your bow," She began heading towards the exit. "I'll meet you in front of the Bannered Mare. Hurry up, now."

Once the huntress was gone, she looked to see Skjor snickering at the table. How long was he there? The corner of his lips tilted upwards into a smirk as he lifted up a tankard. "Watch yourself, newblood."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Vilkas was pacing back and forth between his room and his brothers conveniently across the hall. His night had been incredibly rough, all thoughts lingering on that stupid breton. How foolish, she was. She was bound to end up dead on the job somewhere, her timid self always relying on that vampire to help her. Or, at least, that's what Vilkas had assumed. As frustrated as he was, he hadn't even allowed his brother - who was blessed with not experiencing many side effects of his beast side - help him to control his transformation. Luckily he had not changed within his chambers, though it wouldn't have been a first. He shuddered at the memories.

He'd been pacing for awhile, pondering what to say to the new blood when, lo and behold, she came bounding up to him, a gentle smile on her face. Her appearance was so sudden that when he turned back around from his steady pace, he ran right into her, an audible "Ouch!" being heard as she began rubbing her bottom as if it were a magic lamp about to grant her very wish. He had knocked her down so hard that she lost balance completely and fell most ungracefully on her behind. He smiled at the sight, shoving his nagging thoughts to the back of his head as he reached out for her, pulling her swiftly to her feet.

The blush on the girls face was quite prominent. It was almost cute. Almost, he reminded himself.

"Have you seen Serana?" She inquired. He took notice of the bow on her back and her axes resting at her hips. She was leaving. Panic had bubbled up within him suddenly at the thought of her breaking it off with the companions. He swallowed hard.

"Not since yesterday, I'm afraid." He absentmindedly shrugged. "Maybe she fled before you got the chance to."

"She did not," She huffed, her face getting redder. This time he was sure it was anger replacing the embarrassment. "She wouldn't do that to me."

"You speak of this talk of honor," He made a disgusted face as he accentuated the word. "Yet you abandon your duties and leave the companions like a common coward?"

"Leave?" She raised her brows. "I'm not leaving! Coronation was just last night. Are you that stupid?"

"Then where are you prancing off to so early in the morning?"

"If you must know, though I don't see why my whereabouts should concern you of all people, I'm going hunting with Aela." She crossed her arms, the irritated expression easing up. "There's a bear tormenting the people in Riverwood. Kodlak assigned it to Aela and she asked me to come."

As if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, all his worrying had vanished. So she wasn't leaving. He still didn't know why he cared and why it should even matter if she tells him when she's leaving. That's none of his business. They were both two people with different lives. Hell, they were even friends. They were acquaintances, and they were both determined to keep it that way. He scoffed.

"Well if you're using that bow, make sure you don't shoot Aela as well." He gestured to his still bandaged arm and the bretons face turned red once more in anger.

"You really don't know how to shut up, do you?" Her voice raised with each syllable.

He really couldn't control his anger around her. Some part of him told him that it was simply a game. It was funny to see her so angry around him. Another part of him told him it was best to have her hate him; despise, even. It wouldn't do either one of them any good if they were to be involved romantically. Hell, even in a friendly way. He didn't know why, but his newfound fear was hurting her.

The longer he waited to respond, the more angry she got. He could practically see the steam coming out her ears, which were, he might add, also beat red as the anger bubbled within her. The nord went to open his mouth to retaliate, but shut it as quick as he opened it. A faint, but evident feminine laugh came from Farkas' bedroom. He glanced at the door, and as if on queue, the laugh came again. Caterina looked in the general direction, eyes widening.

"W-what's on the other side of that door?"

"A bedroom."

"I'll be more clear," She huffed. "Who is in that room?"

"Farkas."

Surely Farkas wouldn't be that dumb and slow-witted to bed a vampire. Would he? He softly walked up to the door and pressed an ear to the wood, Caterina following suit and repeating his movements, accidentally bumping into the door ever so slightly. He scowled at her, shooting her a glare before she mouthed 'sorry' with a meek look upon her face.

It was silent for a moment.

"You were right, though. It is pretty big." Vilkas froze. What in Talos' name were they doing?

"Yeah. I knew you'd like it. I try to keep it clean, but it might need a good scrub."

"You sure you're okay with this, Farkas?"

"Of course I am. Anything for a lady."

"But will you fit? It's small and you're so big."

Caterina made a noise that Vilkas couldn't seem to describe. It was quite akin to a dying animal. Unbeknown to the breton, her hands had wrapped themselves around his arm, gently squeezing as the look of horror became more unbearable for him. He found himself gently patting her on the head like a puppy, surprised when she made no movement to stop him. He heard her swallow.

"I can manage."

Vilkas glanced down at Caterina, her eyes wide and full of shock. Perhaps someone should intervene, but he certainly didn't want to open the door to see what on Nirn was going on in that bedroom. Surely Farkas wouldn't bed a vampire, much less one that had, quite literally; shocked the absolute shit out of him back in Dustman's Cairne.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Serana had woken up way too early. Or late. Whichever the case was. Her sleeping schedule hadn't been normal, at least as normal as a vampires sleep schedule could be, all due to her little breton friend insisting she sleep during the night. So the nord decided to do some exploring. It was easy getting away from Caterina. Bran, not so much. He slept like a rock and he made sure he laid either squarely on her or Caterina. He enjoyed the finer things of life. Much to her luck, he decided that it was the breton he would lay on that night. It didn't stop him from perking his head up and whine at her when she stood up, though, the woman quietly coaxing him back down as to not disturb the previously restless breton.

Caterina had a sleepless night up to that point, tossing and turning and huffing; yet refusing to speak to Serana about it. She found it in her place to just remain quiet on the matter and that was that. If she wanted to let her know, she would tell her.

It hadn't been easy sharing a bed with her and that damn dog, but now that they were in a small twin sized bed, it was becoming extremely difficult to manage. Perhaps they would have to fork some septims over to semi-permanently stay at the inn. It was noisy and smelt of sweat, booze, and sex; but it was better than this.

Serana closed her eyes slightly and hummed a tune to herself as she slowly walked down the hall, opposite of her chambers. Once she got to the archway, she noticed two doors, each on either side of one another. The door on the right was firmly shut while the one on the left was cracked open, just a bit. Curiosity got the better of her as she gently tiptoed over to the doorway, eyes peering in.

Her breath haltered as she seen that oaf of a man, Farkas, sitting at a beat-up wooden table in the corner of the room, his armor off save for his tunic. Did the armor just mold to his skin? He really was that big. Somehow she thought it was the particular armor he wore to truly appear that big. Everything came to light when she noticed his muscles, bulging out of his sleeveless tunic, a somewhat familiar sensation overcoming the vampire.

She should leave before he takes notice.

"Oh, hi. Are you lost?"

Just as she was about to turn to leave, he lifted his head up, his brown eyes meeting her own. It was then obvious what he was doing. She should have been embarrassed; shocked even. Instead of running away and not coming clean about her eavesdropping, she stood her body up straight and crossed her arms. She pursed her lips together after seeing an entire wheel of cheese on the table.

"Cheese this late, Farkas?" She smirked after letting out a small chuckle.

"What," He responded, a bit of cheese falling out of his mouth. "I was hungry."

"You always take me by surprise," She commented. "Never seen someone get hungry this early in the morning."

"I like cheese," He shrugged and made a motion with his hands for her to come in. She hesitated at first and he took note. "Come on, I'm not gonna bite you."

"Are you sure you can trust me from biting you?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. If she hadn't been fully dead, she was sure her cheeks would have been burning with the heat of embarrassment. Lucky for her, she had no such feeling. She walked straight towards the werewolf, who didn't appear too menacing with an entire cheese wheel in front of his his face.

"You won't bite me," He retorted. "You're too nice."

"Nice, yes." She smiled gently watching him brush off the sharp cheddar crumbs off the seat next to him. "But I need to eat too, you know. Human food doesn't sustain me."

"Huh. Not even cheese?" He watched as she planted herself on the cushioned seat, her eyes staring sharply at him. She still did not fully trust him, but she knew he wouldn't lash out at her unnecessarily. She smiled.

"No. Even cheese, Farkas."

"How do you flavor things?"

"I don't need to," She watched as he stuffed more cheese in his mouth, that feeling of joy bubbling up inside her as she tried to contain her laughter. "I only need one thing to survive."

"Mammoth steak?"

She was rendered speechless. Was he really this much of a big, stupid oaf? Yet, she was charmed by his mannerisms. He seemed so innocent and completely oblivious to his surroundings. It took him a moment before he realized and shook his head slightly while mumbling never mind.

"So what are you doing up so early?" She sighed pleasantly at the change of conversation.

"Couldn't sleep," She spoke, gently tracing the fabric of the chair handle to keep herself from appearing too awkward. "My bed is rather small; I share it with Caterina and that mutt of hers, so it's quite a tight fit."

"I might be able to help you with that," He stood up abruptly, tugging her up by her arm and leading him to the bed. "Try it." He gently scooped her up in his arms and placed her on the mattress, her entire body tensing up uncomfortably.

"I-it's nice, Farkas. But I can't sleep here." She motioned to him, her brow furrowing as she cleared her throat.

"Oh, right." He rubbed his chin. "I won't sleep in here."

"I'm not taking your bed, Farkas." She retorted. "Where would you sleep?"

"I can take yours," He shrugged. "It's not a problem."

After a moments pause, she spoke up. "You were right, though. It is pretty big." She bounced on the side of it. Comfy, too. She smiled imagining all the room she would have to relax and wind down after a long day. But why on Nirn would he offer his bed to her? Even if she did agree to take it, the smell in the room was quite unpleasant. Even though she knew he had bathed, he could never be rid of the wolf scent.

"Yeah, I knew you'd like it. I try to keep it clean, but it might need a good scrub." He swiped a finger along the bedpost, his face wrinkling in disgust at the dust on his finger. She hadn't pictured him to be a neat freak, but Farkas was always throwing her surprises.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Farkas?" She bit her lip, a feeling of guilt overwhelming her.

"Of course I am. Anything for a lady."

"But will you fit? It's small and you're so big." She retorted, speaking clearly of that tiny bed back in the chambers for new members.

"I can manage."

Serana looked up at Farkas, her lips tilting up in a smile. Perhaps he wasn't so bad after all. "Farkas, I real-"

THUMP!

They both jumped at the sudden noise, their gazes resting upon the now wide-open door; Vilkas and Caterina bursting through the door as if their life were in danger.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Serana was visually perfect in the eyes of Farkas. For being a vampire, she was really nice to him and that heightened his spirits and immediately brightened his day. The other companions liked to tease him for being so oblivious, but it really wasn't his fault. He was just a bit slower to realize certain things - more muscles than brain, they liked to say. He took offense to it, but he didn't want to fight with his family. It was all in good jest anyway, but even so; Serana treated him like a decent human. Perhaps that's why he boldly offered her his bed to sleep in. It was a spur of the moment thing, but he figured he could always shack up with Vilkas if the bed really was too small.

THUMP!

"Don't touch her, wolf!"

Farkas looked at the now open door, a funny sight awaiting him. Caterina had barged in, axes at the ready while Vilkas held onto the back of the bit of tunic sprouting out the backside of her armor, both of their expressions showing concerned, shocked faces. Their faces slowly softened when they spotted them, as if they expected something different. It took Farkas a moment to realize what they had assumed, Serana already touching her cheeks as if she were trying to feel if she was blushing. Could vampires blush? He'd have to ask her later.

"What in the blazes are you two doing in here alone and with the door closed, no less?" Barked Vilkas. Even though he was talking to them both, he had clearly been directing it towards Farkas. Serana stood up immediately and went to tend to the breton, her axes lowering as her friend approached.

"Farkas offered to share his bed with me," Serana began, her brows furrowing a bit before continuing. "Not together, of course!" She announced as she looked her companion directly in the eye, a wave of panic coming across her.

"You and Serana are welcome to this room. You shouldn't be sharing such a small space."

"Farkas, I'm not taking your room. That's outrageous."

"It's fine, really. I mean it." He reached over and popped a small chunk of cheese in his mouth. Caterina's face beamed with excitement.

"Is that cheddar?" She questioned, Serana flicking her on the cheek for such a question when there were more important things to be discussing. "Ouch!"

"Yeah, do you want some?" Farkas asked, gesturing towards the table.

"Please! I'm about to go hunting and a bit of cheese would be an excellent snack along the way."

"Oh, for Mara's sake!" Vilkas raised his voice as he looked at them both, Farkas raising a brow as he watched Caterina shove a good sized chunk in her travel pack. He still didn't know where she put it all.

"Is there a problem?" He asking his brother innocently.

"What are you doing giving new bloods your room? You earned it. They've done nothing of the sort to earn their keep, yet."

"I don't mind. It's just a bed." He shrugged. Farkas could care less if he slept on the damn floor.

"You won't fit, you big glug."

"Then I'll share yours."

"Like hell you will!"

"You really can't show some compassion, brother?"

"Ugh," He rubbed his temples. "Fine, but you're not going to be eating cheese at 3 AM in my room."

"No, of course not," He remarked. "I'll take it out in the hallway."

"Whatever," He shook his head in defeat. "This isn't going to be permanent, you know."

Farkas grunted in response.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

If Serana hadn't been the butt of the joke in this situation, perhaps she would have found it all to be humorous. The innuendos, the cheese, and the look of contempt Vilkas kept shooting at Farkas; and so on. Fortunately she was roused from her sudden shocked state and went to stare at her friend, drowning out the sounds of the brothers arguing.

"You're going hunting?"

"Yes," She scratched her head nervously and gave the vampire a small grin. "Aela asked me to go with her, and before you object, we'll be by Riverwood. It'll be safe."

"Well I'm coming with you, just to be sure."

"Actually, you already have an assignment today." Farkas spoke, seemingly out of nowhere as he eyes the chatting girls. "You're to come with me to handle some matters in town."

"What kind of matters?" She didn't think she'd even need to help out in this regard. Farkas was big and scary enough to get even a giant to stand down, that she was certain of. Why did they need her?

"Citizen been causing trouble. Gotta rough him up a bit, y'know. Look tough and scare him into submission." He cracked his knuckles as he spoke. "Kodlak came by late last night and asked me to show you the ropes."

"Why can't Cat come with us?" The idea of her friend going on her own little quest was terrifying seeing as how it was with a werewolf. Sure, Farkas was one, but Farkas also wouldn't hurt a fly. She couldn't be so sure about Aela.

"No offense, Cat, but you're not exactly someone that anyone is gonna cower from."

Caterina crossed her arms and huffed a bit. Serana couldn't help but to smile at the childish antics from her friend of short stature. She gently patted her on the back. She didn't look scary; not one bit. Perhaps if she boasted more about killing a vampire lord, she would. But even then, who would believe a breton girl was capable of such a feat? Not many, that was for damn sure.

"Just promise me you won't shoot her instead of the bear," She smirked. "I know your aim."

Vilkas shot the vampire a knowing glance and smirked. He must have made a comment previously as well, for the breton looked between them both for a couple moments before letting out an overly dramatic and frustrated growl.

"Oh for the love of Talos!" She threw her hands up in the air before waltzing out of the room, the annoyance in her voice ringing out loudly. "It was an accident!"


	7. Flower Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! We finally got all the current chapters uploaded to Ao3. Sorry if I kind of threw them all in your face at once. The story is on-going and I've been updating frequently since getting back from a long hiatus. Thanks for the support guys! <3

There was something off about that girl. Aela stood behind her newest shield-sister, arms crossed and brow lifting up as she took in the sight before her. She had known not to expect much coming from a breton, a race famous for its master chefs and mere magic wielders. But this was laughable. Said breton had shot at the same elk three times, missing the mark by such a long shot, Aela was afraid the arrow would fly straight past the elk and into Riverwood.

"No, no," She intervened. Enough was enough. "You're stance is all wrong."

"Err, yeah." She grinned sheepishly. "Archery isn't exactly my strong suit."

"I hadn't the slightest hint." She couldn't help but laugh at the girl. For reasons unknown, she found herself wanting to help her. "Now watch me."

The redhead took out her own bow and notched an arrow. She bent her knees ever so slightly and took aim at a nearby rabbit, releasing the arrow to strike the small beast right in the heart.

"Aw, thanks." Caterina grinned sheepishly. "You remembered I liked rabbit meat."

"Well, I-" Truth be told, Aela had only wanted to show her a demonstration. She could have cared less if the rabbit stayed where it was and decomposed. But to show such gratitude at a small gesture struck something in Aela to cause her to smile fondly at the breton. "You're welcome."

Aela had reasons to believe she was part of some vampiric cult. Perhaps she was waiting for the right time to be turned by the blood-sucking friend of hers, yet the childish glint in her eyes when she did even a small feat made the nord question her motives entirely. She honestly didn't seem to want to cause any harm; vampire friend or not. Was it a possibility that this girl was too dumb to even recognize that her companion was a vampire?

Aela shook her head to clear her thoughts. This situation was going to drive her mad with curiosity. Best not to break character now, Aela. She had doubted the girl was dumb.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

"Over there," Caterina beamed enthusiastically as she seen something big splashing in the nearby lake. "It's the bear!"

She inwardly groaned as she regretted not taking her crossbow from her quarters back at the Dawnguard Fort. It was so much easier to shoot with that than that blasted bow she kept slung behind her. At any rate, she should have at least begged Serana for some of her blood to make more bloodcursed arrows, the mere steel arrows not quite hitting the mark as well. It had only been a few hours in and she had thought she made quite a bit of progress getting to know Aela. For being a werewolf, she was not that bad to hunt alongside, the woman showing her all the tricks when it came to hunting with a bow. Something Caterina was overly excited to learn.

"All right, take your aim." The nord grabbed ahold of her shoulders and fixed her posture. "Now close one eye and find your target," She fixed the bows positioning in her hands. "And tilt your bow up just slightly and-" There was another big splash, the arrow flying from the bow to land the bear squarely in the leg. The beast let out a roar before Aela notched her own arrow and let it fly towards the injured creature.

The villagers thanked them as they gave them the bear for it's meat and materials, free of charge. It was only right they feast upon something that had been tormenting them. The nord smiled as the breton slung the pouch with the dead rabbit in it over her shoulder.

The job was done.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Farkas was in a good mood. A really good mood. A mood that made everyone around him seem like they were in a good mood, too. They weren't, as Farkas soon realized, Skjor grimacing at the big brute as he dodged a hug.

"What the hell is your problem, Farkas?" He spat as he looked down at the mead spilt all over him.

"Sorry, Skjor."

The older nord stomped away, head shaking in disgust as he went to clean off the mead Farkas had unintentionally spilt on him. Maybe Skjor wasn't in a good mood, but it didn't dampen Farkas'. He was finally going back out again, his most recent jobs being simple things like fetching some ingredients or looking for a missing book. Damn it, he was a warrior; not a courier!

"Well," He looked over at Serana who had just came out from her quarters - err, Farkas' old quarters. She promptly flung her hood over her head and tightened it at the base of her neck. Was it to keep the sun out of her eyes. More than likely, yes. "You ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She stated, her previous cheerful attitude diminishing quickly to be replaced by irritation. Maybe Farkas was putting everyone in a fowl mood today? He wondered if maybe he should have washed up a bit more before venturing out.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Serana was in a bad mood. A really bad mood. She had no desire to go out in midday to go rough up some man whom she cared nothing for, much less without Caterina.

No words were spoken between the two companions as they left Jorrvaskr and began walking towards the trade district. She absentmindedly chewed on her lip to the point where it started bleeding just slightly. Upon tasting the coppery liquid, she felt her throat tighten up; ears ringing wildly as she was reminded that she hadn't had her fill for almost a full twelve hours.

Vampire thirst was different than a simple human being hungry for food. If they didn't get their fill, they were rewarded with the most unpleasant of sensations that only became more intense the longer they went without. She was a fool for not feeding earlier; something she knew she would soon regret as she felt the burning of the hot sun on her fingertips. She quickly crossed her arms and hid them under her garments. Farkas took note of her behavior and placed a hand on her shoulder. She winced.

"You okay?" He tried to glance at her face masked slightly by her hood. She quickly turned away knowing damn well her eyes were a more intense red color than usual. A look that was inhumane.

"I'll be fine, Farkas. Please," She cleared her throat and picked up her pace, leaving him a few steps behind her. "Let's just get this done."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Farkas didn't speak until he was for sure they were well out of reach for others to hear them. He pulled her gently behind the bannered mare where the sun hadn't touched. Serana went to pull away from him, but he tugged her chin upwards to stare into her bloodshot eyes, dark lines beginning for form around the orbs making her skin look like cracked porcelain.

"I'm fine, Farkas." She boldly stated. "You need not worry about me."

"Serana, I'm no fool. I can see that you're not well," He grunted in response. "Come with me. I'm renting you a room."

Serana's eyes widened. "A room? What for?" She tried to pry his fingers from her, but with little success.

"I'm gonna handle this Mikael guy myself. I don't like to lie to Kodlak, but I'll tell him you helped. I think this is an exception."

"No, I'll be fin-"

"No. Listen to me." He scowled, raising his voice for the first time at the unexpected vampire. "You're going to stay here. I'll bring you back some food."

He didn't mean to yell, but she was being insufferable and it was starting to irritate him. He always dealt with Vilkas being stubborn, but her level of stubbornness outweighed his brothers by a long shot. He cared about her and knew she needed some energy. He wouldn't let her distrust him anymore. She needed a friend like him.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Aela's stomach grumbled as she paused in the road, once more, and crossed her arms as she looked up into the sky. Talos help me. Caterina bounded up to the woman with the look of sheer annoyance plastered across her face. Apparently the breton took no notice as she continued on blabbing about things that clearly didn't befit a warrior to any degree.

Apparently it was Flower Day according to breton tradition. Warriors, chefs, blacksmiths, mothers, children, and the like all celebrated it. The day of celebrating the first day of spring. Aela grimaced. It sounded like a childish holiday. What about the nordic holidays where you spent days drinking in the mead hall? Now those were celebrations she could get behind.

"Don't tell me you nords have never heard of Flower Day." She spoke as she gathered one more flower to weave into her ever-growing crown of flowers. The nord sighed. She wanted that mammoth steak.

"Of course we have heard of it," She shot back in annoyance. "We just don't think to act upon such a day. We're nords, damn it. Not some prancing mer in the woods."

"Hm. Well I'm certainly no mer," She wound more flowers into the crown, her smile brightening even further. "I don't even have a slight point to my ears. You should see Bellenda back in the Imperial City," She shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Ears as big as a bat, I swear."

"Dunno, your ears are pretty big, too." She laughed to herself as the breton slowly reached up to touch her ear. Caterina was amusing to say the least. Sure, Aela preferred the company of nordic men and women who strived for the hunt, for mead, and for a good battle; but sometimes going off the beaten path was a good thing. Suddenly Aela halted in those thoughts. What if she eventually got promoted to the circle? Surely she couldn't stand the blood of the werewolf. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she pictured a smaller than usual werewolf prancing about with flowers in its hair.

"Did you want a crown, as well? I can always make Serana another one." She spoke, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Does she celebrate Flower Day, too?"

"No, but she puts up with me most of the time," She shrugged a bit as she continued to weave flowers; lavender this time around. "So she'll wear it."

"Tell me more about your friend." Aela smiled devilishly at this more than perfect moment. Perhaps she could learn more about her association with vampires.

"Serana?" The question hadn't appeared to phase her. "I've known her for awhile. Perhaps half a year? She's been my lifesaver."

"Where did you two meet?" Aela kicked a pebble along the road watching it slip off and into the small stream along the cobblestone. She took note in the concerned expression in the girls eyes. Good. She was making her uncomfortable.

"Er," Caterina had a panicked look in her eyes. Aela smiled triumphantly. "We met hunting vampires."

"Vampires?" She paused. This might be easier than she expected. "So you're a vampire hunter?"

"N-no. Not really," She shrugged again, her fingers slowing to a stop as she raised her gaze to look at the companion. "There just happened to be an infestation awhile back and Serana was there to help me."

"So you bonded over killing vampires?"

"Something like that."

"So how long has Serana been a vampire?"

"A little over-" She stopped short and gave Aela a sideways glance, the look of joy on her face finally leaving as traces of anger began to dot her features. "She's not a vampire. Why would you even insult her in such a way?"

"Mm. I'm kidding," She chuckled. "I wanted to catch you off guard."

It seemed forever as they continued on foot. If Aela had been alone, she'd have left earlier when the stars still twinkled in the skies above. Her feet were beginning to ache and she desperately wanting to transform. Unfortunately, it would not do well to startle the poor girl that much. Her gaze fell on the breton as she weaved one last flower into the crown, this one being bright yellow - dragon's tongue. As if their previous conversation hadn't even existed, Caterina smiled broadly as she held the crown out to admire her handy work. The crown was ridiculous and it was going to look even more ridiculous on the brunettes head. Unfortunately, it never reached her head and instead was haphazardly placed upon the tip top of her own.

"W-wait-" She was silenced with the breton happily giggling at the look before her.

"It looks so nice on you," She remarked with a playful smile. "I envy your hair color." Caterina self consciously ran her fingers through her dark brown locks, her brows furrowing in disgust.

Aela shouldn't trust her; again she knew that. She was slightly annoying, but charming in her own way. She also clearly had secrets that she wouldn't disclose with her, something Aela was leery of. Still, something made the nord smile as she reached up to adjust the flower crown. She blushed as she thought of what Skjor would think. Skjor hadn't ever made a move on Aela, but at times she had wished there were something more.

Suddenly it dawned on her what Caterina had previously mentioned. Something about Flower Day being the most common day for men and women to confess their love or desire for courtship. She snorted unladylike. As if a silly day would make people more forward about their love affairs. Still, she couldn't stop thinking about the snowy haired companion she had shared the beast blood with for so long. She clicked her tongue as she watched the breton stop to pick more flowers.

This damn whelp.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Caterina was clearly upset when they returned, Serana still nowhere in sight. Her disappointment must have been evident, for Aela wrapped an arm around her neck and tugged her in the direction of the vast table filled with an assortment of food. "Don't fret, I gave Tilma the rabbit. She'll have it done before long."

The breton smiled fondly at the nord and took her place beside her near the middle of the table. She couldn't bring herself to eat, the thought of Serana still out there without her making her stomach do strange flips. Sure she was a vampire who was more than capable of taking care of herself, but Caterina couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her. Friends are a pain. She mumbled to herself before pulling out a few flowers from her satchel. The looks the nords were giving her were one of amusement, but thankfully she was too involved in her creation of another flower crown to be bothered looking to see what they thought.

It wasn't until Aela cleared her throat did she realize everyone had stopped eating to look directly at the breton, her hands stilling at the sudden realization.

"What the hell is that?" Commented Njada, her voice a bit louder as she expressed her amusement. She glared at the women with contempt. She wanted the whole table to hear her.

"This, Njada" She commented dryly. "Is called a flower."

"No shit," Skjor laughed deeply throwing her for a loop. "What are you doing with them? Aren't they typically supposed to be in the ground?"

"I'll have you know it-"

"It's Flower Day, Skjor." Aela cut her off before sinking her teeth into an apple. Caterina had only hoped it was to her defense and not to poke fun at her.

"Flower Day? I've heard of that!" Ria announced, the bubbly atmosphere from the imperial making her feel not so alone in this regard. "Had a neighbor who celebrated it every year when I was a child."

"Did you take part in the festivities as well?" She piped up, curiosity getting the best of her.

"N-no," She responded, her hand resting on her chin in thought. "Weird breton guy... guards discovered he was part of a cannibalistic cult who were full of daedric worshipers." She clicked her tongue. "Nasty bit of business, that one."

Her face fell when the entire table laughed. Ria had not meant to belittle her in such a way, that she knew, but it still hurt that nobody took the holiday serious here. At least back at the Dawnguard she was able to celebrate with her family, namely Sorine who was just as full of curiosity as she was. Hell, even Mogrul; the biggest orc she'd ever seen, celebrated it with her. He was always a great sport when it come to flower making, some of his crowns turning out even better than hers. Caterina's heart fell a bit in her chest as she suddenly came to miss them.

"Isn't that when bretons celebrate the coming of flowers?" Skjor seemed to sense her mood, for he suddenly came to her defense and had not taken much part in the laughter. She smiled slightly as she rubbed her finger along a petal.

"Spring, actually." Aela commented before she could respond. She shrugged as the whole table looked at her in surprise. "She filled me in on the details on the way here."

"Oh, that's right," Caterina thought. "You're not wearing the crown I made you, Aela."

"Oh, that.. " She scratched the back of her head before placing the brightly colored circlet of flowers on the table. Her face seemed to be much more red than usual. Was she really doing this so she didn't feel so left out? The thought pleased her. "Didn't want to get it dirty, of course. But I can wear it if you like."

"That would be perfect," She beamed. Everyone seemed to snicker as they watched the normal fiery tempered redhead place the flowers atop her head, the sight becoming quite the center of attention as she unceremoniously lifted a tankard of mead to her lips afterwards, more than likely trying to diverge from the topic of that ridiculous flower crown. The breton smiled brightly, her hands seeming to move on their own accord as she began to absentmindedly finish up another flower crown. She was about to ask if anyone had a request when her voice was overshadowed by a rather booming one.

"We're warriors. Companions. We don't prance around with a bundle of flowers in our hands making merry. We drink mead, rescue damsels, and be mighty!" Torvar lifted his tankard up for a toast, all companions raising there's with a shout then consuming the the beverage on two swallows. Wait, didn't Aela just drink a full one? Caterina was the only one who hadn't lifted up her mug. To be perfectly honest, she didn't even like mead. She liked milk.

Oh, gods, she was a literal milk-drinker. She didn't fit in with these people at all. For reasons unknown, her spirits and joy for the holiday seemed to leave. She couldn't force them to celebrate a holiday that they didn't even recognize in Skyrim. Hell, she didn't even know any bretons in Whiterun save for that one cranky shopkeeper. Belethor, was it? She didn't want to celebrate with him. Serana would have been more than happy to celebrate the holiday with her, in fact they had made plans well before the companions even came into the picture. This was, after all, the bretons favorite holiday. No doubt she would have expressed her enjoyment to her friend.

Caterina watched as everyone seemed to ignore her presence now, Aela and Skjor too busy talking to one another as he poked fun at her ridiculous flower crown and everyone else busy stuffing their faces with food that didn't even appeal to her at the present time. She supposed the only positive part of the evening thus far was that Aela didn't throw the crown off to the side. Maybe she was starting to like her? She was a strange one; hard to read. At least she was more friendly as opposed to a certain brash young werewolf.

Speaking of which, where was that brute anyway? She perked her head up to look around the table but he was nowhere in sight. It was probably for the best. No doubt he'd have made the situation even worse than it was. Gathering up what flowers she had strewn about the table, she shoved them into her satchel and made way for her chambers Farkas had so kindly loaned to them. She still felt guilty as hell to accept his request, for she hadn't been poor in the slightest and could probably purchase property within the city given she proves herself to be trustworthy in the eyes of the jarl. Maybe she would look into it tomorrow.

She reached the lower halls of Jorrvaskr when a voice startled her.

"Not hungry?" Kodlak was seated at one of the small tables in the long hall. He had a curious expression on his face.

"Nah, my stomach is a bit queasy." She lied; though only partly. It was true her stomach was doing flips, but it wasn't out of an illness.

"Your friend is a strong woman," His posture relaxed as if he were reading her mind. "She'll be all right."

"I know she will." She hadn't needed to ask who he was speaking of. Her determination over the well-being of Serana was evident enough in her day to day routines.

"She'll be back soon, I'm sure. They just got delayed is all." He commented. "Those flowers-" He pointed to her satchel. "Is it Flower Day already?"

Caterina seemed to practically glow. "You celebrate it?"

"Of course," He chuckled. "I'm well-versed in all the assorted holidays on Nirn and try to make it a point to celebrate each one - in my own way, of course."

"The others - they poke fun at the holiday." She stopped short. "You're very intelligent, sir. Flower Day is a rather important celebration, one even nords should set time to partake in."

"Kodlak is fine. Please don't be a Farkas repeat," He gently responded as he peaked curiously at her overflowing pack of flowers. "Are you going to offer me one of those?"

Caterina thought she'd pass out on the spot. He was just so perfect in every way. She'd never met a nicer nord before and it made her heart blossom in blissful happiness. Someone who actually requested a crown? First time in a long time for that.

"Would you prefer a primarily blue one or would you like an assorted one?" She mused as she began to stack the crowns on her arms as if she were wearing extremely large arm bands. "This one smells divine - lavender! Here, let me see how it looks on you."

Caterina found it hard to believe this man was a werewolf as well. He seemed so.. harmless. But she of all people knew not to judge a book by it's cover, evident in the way everyone had assumed she was a horrible weakling who wouldn't survive in this harsh land had Serana not been with her; a typical strong nordic woman. Bet half of these mighty warriors hadn't single handedly slayed a vampire lord. She snickered at her thoughts causing Kodlak to look at her curiously. She brushed it off with a smile as she placed the lavender crown on his head.

"Perfection." She placed her hands together as if she were a mother forcing her child to try on a new garment she purchased from the general goods store.

"You've quite the talent for these sort of things," He responded as he inhaled deep. "You're right; they do smell most nice"

"Thank you," Her mood had improved significantly upon speaking to the old man. She could see why he would have been an obvious father figure to Farkas and Vilkas. Though she hated to admit it, Isran was almost like a father to her as well. Kodlak made her miss him. At the same time, it made her rethink her life choices. She did not want to kill these people. They didn't even seem like the type to transform at will and go on killing rampages. Hell, she hadn't even heard of werewolf attacks around Whiterun, the rumors simply stating they heard the howling at night and nothing after except a stray sheep or cow turning up missing. Yet she didn't want to disappoint her family. She was sure they would kick her out swiftly if she brought werewolves home as friends next. Her heart ached.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop overthinking it." Kodlak broke her out of her thoughts and she looked up curiously at him as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ignore the others and be merry. You bretons are always too cheerful. Don't let the others dampen your spirits."

"I'll try to, but it may be hard without company."

"As much as I'd love to join you, I need to do some more tedious companion work," He grimaced. "Paperwork."

"Where is Vilkas?" She piped up without realizing the question was even going to slip from her lips. Why had she even cared where that bastard was?

Bark! Bark!

Caterina jumped as Bran turned a corner and collided into the breton, her form staggering back before hitting a weapon rack with a small 'oof'. "H-hey buddy! Missed me, huh?"

"Oh, yes." Kodlak bent down to scratch the dog on the side, who immediately turned over to get a promising belly rub. "Don't fret, he was in safe hands all day. Spent most of the time in my chambers helping me do, yet again, more paperwork. He makes life a bit less dull around here."

"I'm glad he's taken such a liking to everyone here," She silently thanked Tiber Septim for the interruption. She had only hoped he would forget about her previous question. "Well I'm gonna get going. Might throw on something a little less clunky and celebrate before the sun sets."

"Ah, of course. Vilkas is already out there. Maybe he would want to join you." He smiled slyly at the breton whose face had dropped into a slight frown.

Gods damn it. Of course he would be outside. He's always cramping the bretons style. He insults her, belittles her, torments her in the most obvious of ways, and now he's going to ruin flower day. No! He wasn't. She refused to let him spoil her mood. In fact, she would go completely overboard and go full out breton. She still had that breezy elven dress she had bought from a Khajiit caravan awhile back stored away in one of her many satchels. That would be divine to wear for such an occasion. Gathering up her thoughts, she bided Kodlak farewell and gestured for Bran to follow her towards her chambers. He tilted his big, fluffy head and remained stationary at Kodlaks feet.

She snorted. "Traitor.."

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Vilkas leaned against the doorframe of Jorrvaskr, arms crossed with a slight relaxed smile on his face as he gazed out into the training yard. Everyone else had taken to eating the wonderful dinner Tilma had prepared from some of the more extravagant meats Skjor and Aela provided them with on a weekly basis. It smelt heavenly, but the nord was in no mood to eat. Instead, he walked over and planted himself on the steps of Jorrvaskr overlooking the training ground. The sunset was beautiful - if you liked that sort of thing. Be still and enjoy the moment? Bah. You should always use your wits. Think about the next battle and plan strategically. Companions had no time to enjoy the beauty life had to offer. Neither did werewolves, for that matter. The sunset was probably the worst part of the day for Vilkas, the slight appearances of the moons appearing in the sky as the sun slept for the night made his blood boil.

The werewolf closed his eyes to meditate on his thoughts when he heard the door of Jorrvaskr slowly creak open. He was about to scowl at the figure for being so loud, but his words seemed to get caught in the back of his throat. He hadn't expected to see Caterina, nor did he expect her to be wearing not a trace of armor. The white dress she wore was long, the bottom pooling at her feet like in a bundle of pure white silk. What a fool. This was no damn ballroom, yet she treated it as such when she began to twirl around, petals flying off that ridiculous flower crown she had adorned upon her head.

"Dance with me, grumpy!" She grinned merrily. Vilkas groaned.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Caterina was in no mood to fight, nor argue with someone even as petty as Vilkas. Today was Flower Day and she was expected, being a breton and all, to bring joy to those around her. Spring has come! Flowers were in bloom, and she wanted nothing more than to share a little bit of that happiness, even if those she kept company were all a bunch of hard-headed nords with no eyes for beauty.

Still dancing like a bubbly bosmer, she motioned with her hands for Vilkas to come over. No words were spoken as he took his place next to her in the courtyard. She smiled brightly up at the man and reached for his hands. He'd apparently not been expecting such forwardness from the girl, as he appeared to be taken aback, yet - much to her surprise - did not pull away. Instead, he intertwined their fingers together, smirking at the surprised look on the bretons face. It took a moment for her to remember what she'd been doing; the fluttering of her heart distracting her in the most embarrassing of ways.

Caterina Motierre was no coward. And she was definitely not going to be falling in love on Flower Day; typical of most bretons, for Flower Day was the day most found courage to court their beloveds.

But wait a minute - fall in love? Nonsense! This was Vilkas, not some handsome breton war hero she had dreamt about as a child. Hell she'd even go back to her more barbaric roots and court a gods damn forsworn before courting this fiery werewolf she currently had prancing about in the training yard.

Wait. When did she begin dancing? She knew nothing now other than the fact that Vilkas was indeed dancing alongside her, but not of her happy little dance she had previously been so invested in. He was in control, leading her around the open space and being quite charming about things. Perhaps he got her dance confused and she should try to take control once again. Or perhaps he found it funny to embarrass her and take her by surprise like this.

❤ - ❤ - ❤

Vilkas smirked and chuckled. He could almost see the gears grinding in her head as she tried to figure out, no doubt, why he was being so kind. In truth, not even he knew. All he did know is that he thoroughly enjoyed seeing her happy. The thoughts plagued his well-being. Why would he care about this stupid girl? She wasn't a nord. She wasn't a true warrior. Sure she could swing a couple axes, but he had seen the way she blocked. It was laughable. He also had doubts she could even pick up his greatsword he kept strapped to his back.

No, he could never court her. He needed a strong Nord woman who knew how to please him. Maybe Ysolda would be a perfect match. She seemed to be intelligent as well as beautiful. He chuckled as he tried to picture her, a nord of her stature dancing as the breton had. Nevertheless, his thoughts trailed back to Caterina.

Pure white dress twirling in the wind as if she were a flower falling gracefully from the full bloomed eldergleam, dark hair reaching mid-waist blowing gently in the wind with each sudden dance move... flowers resting upon the tip top of her head bringing out the crystal blue of her gentle eyes.

It was as if no one had existed in that moment of time. Nothing else mattered. Vilkas hadn't known when the sun had fully gone down, stars dotting across the sky leaving everything coated in it's peaceful, luminous glow. It gave Vilkas time to truly admire the vision of perfection in front of him, her skin akin to porcelain in the moonlight.

Vilkas wasn't thinking clearly. As much as he wanted to tell himself to walk away, he couldn't. Those thoughts pushed themselves even further back in his mind as his hand darted out to grab at the small of her back, her tiny clothed frame pressing up fully against his armored one.

"V-vilkas?" She spoke, but he either hadn't registered what was happening, or he just did not care. His focus was on her face, namely those beautiful blue eyes staring back into his stone grey hues. He leaned his head down to match the girls height. Damn bretons..

His nose gently grazed the tip of her little buttoned one, his breath hitching in his throat as he felt her stand on the tips of her toes to better match his height, lips now merely inches apart. The brightness of her eyes had darkened considerably as the look of surprise vanished from her face. Instead he was met was a look of desire. He swallowed hard as he felt the warmth of her breath, the tickling of lips grazing softly against each other stirring up emotions he hadn't felt for a long time.

Time itself had stopped. Unfortunately, it would not last.

"Cat?" Aela's voice tugged him back to reality, the look of realization masking his desire. In one swift movement, he slid his foot under the unexpected girl causing her to falter and fall most ungracefully on her behind.

"O-ouch!" She groaned, that look of surprised dotting her features once more.

With quick thinking, Vilkas slung the greatsword off his back and aimed it at the unexpecting woman on the ground, that damned signature smirk making its way across his face.

"Ah, there you are," Aela looked the scene up and down for a moment. "I was worried when you hadn't eaten. Haven't seen you for awhile."

"I-I'm fine," She sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I wasn't too hungry tonight."

"I see," The nordic woman tilted her head "Training at this hour? Vilkas, let the poor girl get some rest."

"She asked for it," He snarled as he lowered the sword.

"Well," Aela gestured towards the breton. "Odd choice of wardrobe when training." She must have sensed the tension in the air, for she swiftly apologized for intruding and quickly excused herself.

Vilkas strapped the greatsword back onto his back once the nord was out of sight. He turned to look back down at the breton whose dress was now stained with the mud she had fallen in... the mud he had pushed her in, he reminded himself. She stood without a word, hands immediately trying to shove some of the dirt and wet mud aside with little to no effort of trying to stop the stain from spreading. She sighed when she took note of that damned flower crown that had fallen off her head. With a swift move of her foot, she kicked it to the corner of the courtyard. Vilkas winced as she began stomping back towards the mead hall.

"Wait, Cat-" She turned around so fast that Vilkas had thought for sure she was going to hit him. Kick him. Strangle him. Shoot him in the face with some of that fire magic he no doubt knew she knew. Talos knew he deserved it. Instead he was met with glistening eyes; eyes that were trying so hard to hold back tears. So sad, yet filled with a rage that would make even Ysgramor himself to back down.

"You- y-you don't get to call me that," She pointed a finger at him as she began to walk backwards and making sure she was holding him at an arms length. She didn't want him near her. "Only my friends call me that, and I'm sorry to inform you this way, but you're no friend of mine."

With that she slung open the door and made her way into the building. The only sounds that were heard were the slight chirping of crickets and the slam of the door as she closed it behind her.

He was a damn fool.


End file.
